Unintended
by Ameliorably
Summary: Having left Gibbs and accepted a promotion, Jenny's best laid plans begin to unravel when she discovers that she's come away with more than she bargained for, leading her back stateside to confront her relationship with Gibbs. A series prequel and Pilot AU, set during and around Season 1. Jibbs
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: _**_Hello :) This is an AU, and for the purposes of the story I've moved things around a little._

**_1991_**_ Gibbs joins NIS_ **_1994_**_ Jenny joins NCIS (in Counter Terrorism)_ **_1995_**_ Jenny's father dies _ **_1996_**_ Jenny joins Gibbs's team in the MCRT in order to fast track her career (to better go after la Grenouille and investigate her father's death)_ **_1999 (mid to late) _**_Gibbs and Jenny work black ops in Europe_ **_2000_**_ Gibbs returns stateside, Jenny leaves him a Dear John, staying on in Europe until she's supposed to transfer to the Middle East_ **_2000 _**_Gibbs starts rebuilding his team and recruits DiNozzo_

_According to this timeline, Rebecca was the first wife, Diane the second, and Stephanie never happened (because Jenny and this story does) and Gibbs doesn't live with her in Moscow._

* * *

It was not a good day. Hell, if this was how it was going to be, it was not going to be a good year, or even a good life.

Jenny was sitting in strange apartment in Paris of all places, trying to figure out just how she was going to get out of this one. NCIS had given her a week off and the keys to some accommodation for a week before she started her new role in the Middle East.

She was livid with a side of prickly numbness, a nasty sensation that trickled from her scalp down the back of her neck that felt like nothing and everything at the same time.

She was in trouble. If there was a time in her life when it was least convenient for her to get pregnant, it was now.

It was too bad then that she had just spent half a year in Europe sleeping with her partner as they conducted covert ops, the two things so completely unrelated and yet very much entwined.

They had been reasonably careful, though reasonably apparently wasn't careful enough, and the statistics of doing something _a lot_ meant they were not on her side.

Her side, their side, a side, the side.

Hot, angry tears streamed down her face and she brushed them away angrily. They were stupid. This this entire situation was _so stupid, _and God knew why she was still sitting here thinking about it when she could easily just terminate and move on without ever uttering a word about it to anyone, but something was stopping her:

Gibbs.

Even now he was important. Even though he wasn't here, even though he had no idea this was happening, even though she _left_ him, she could still see his penetratingly blue stare.

The bastard had scoffed at her with a John Wayne style 'that'll be the day' when she'd told him she loved him and so there had been no reason to stay (and she certainly hadn't done it again).

She stood up abruptly, moving violently towards the apartment's tiny kitchen, her movements all purposeful and a little jagged around the edges. _Where the hell was her cell phone?_

She had left him swiftly and after careful calculation leaving minimal mess for her, or so she had thought, but it did not stop her heart still aching or longing to go back.

Something about carrying a little part of him with her was appealing, which both irked and disturbed her.

Who was she, and what had she done with who she had convinced herself she was, and just how did one go about crawling back in a situation like this anyway?

_"Hey, by the way, I know I left without saying goodbye, yeah, that's because I didn't really want to put my career first but did it anyway, well, I'm back because we need to have 'the talk'."_

Her eyes scanned the kitchen counter, still not locating the offending phone.

She had left her coat and a note and disappeared into the night so she wouldn't have to face him and those damn blue eyes. All things considered she had thought she had got out of that one quite well...until a few days later.

She had been 'late' before. Hell, with the heady cocktail of contraceptive pills and high stress situations, it was almost a given, but it had not occurred to her until a few more days later that this "late" felt different somehow, fuller if possible, whatever that meant.

So, she'd taken a test, and mumbled a string of expletives that had worked all the way up to a snarled "fuck" as it had given her the answer she had been so afraid of:

Positive.

There was nothing positive about this.

She refused believe it. She refused to accept her place on the fast track was over, she refused to believe anything had to change, but at the same time, her already weakened resolve to run headlong into her career had suffered a serious blow.

She sighed loudly with an irritation reserved only for herself. This was far too human, way too pedestrian. All this desperately trying to be as cold as she needed to be to get the job done, and now _this. _

If the universe was trying to tell her something, she was not a fan.

She stalked back to the living area and threw aside a newspaper and some magazines, uncovering her phone on the coffee table where it had been the entire time and woke it up, jabbing a button. She had a Director to call and a flight to book.

She could probably just call Gibbs, he had probably gone back to using the same number as he had had before Europe, the man hated change, but she was going to need some serious in person diplomacy skills for this one.

* * *

To say she felt worse for wear when she arrived at the Navy Yard was an understatement. Her flight had been long, uneventful, teary, and blandly awful. The girly tape in her Walkman he had teased her about on the flight over had made her cry on the way home. Honestly, who's bright idea had it been to bring this album anyway?

Hers apparently.

She did not want to talk about love, her heart would probably go on, she was going to have to tell him at some point, and she definitely hated and loved him, and it didn't help one bit.

She was just grateful she hadn't started feeling sick yet, if that was something that was going to happen, but she was so damn tired. There was a bone deep weariness in her that she usually had to try a lot harder to achieve.

Jenny brushed her no doubt unkempt looking bangs to the side, gear still on her back. She'd kill for a shower right about now. The grime of long haul flights clung to her like a film.

She snorted softly, causing a nearby agent to look at her. Maybe sleeping with Gibbs counted as needing decontamination.

She flashed her badge at security, as they waved her through, and the normality of it all clanged in dissonance with how alien she felt. The alien lands they had been in were enough on their own, but this new...development... only heightened it.

Her senses were on high alert as she walked into the bullpen, her eyes scanning for a particular greying head, which she didn't find.

Her eyes instead fell on Pacci, and she flashed him a tight smile. He smiled a friendly but confused one in return because she wasn't supposed to be anywhere near here.

Her eyes then fell on her old desk, where a tall, young, brown haired man she didn't recognise was now lounging, his feet up on the desk and his thoughts clearly somewhere else.

She paused before approached silently, enjoying the element of surprise. "You don't want to let Gibbs catch you doing that," she said silkily once she was close enough to shock.

The man all but fell off his chair in surprise, recovering himself quickly. "And who, may I ask, are you?"

"You can ask but I'm not telling you. I need to speak to Gibbs, agent…" she let the sentence trail off in a way that all but demanded he fill in that blank.

"DiNozzo," he said, looking mildly perturbed at the information that he'd just volunteered.

"DiNozzo," she said with more than a hint of patronisation.

"Right, and when he asks who's asking what should I tell…him?"

He trailed off at the steely eyed glare she was giving him, one of her brows quirking upward. in irritation as his eyes met hers.

"Right. I'll go get him." He said, hurriedly as he rose from his chair, tripping over his wastepaper basket as he left. He stopped, turning back to her as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, you're not his ex-wife, are you?"

If Jenny's eyes had been formidable before, they were now downright deadly. "No, Agent DiNozzo, I'm not," she said, her voice low and threatening.

"Okay then." Tony said, pointing at her in a feigned casual gesture as he scuttled away, torn between staying longer to gather intelligence, and running away from the very scary but also very beautiful lady.

He'd just rounded the corner into the interrogation corridor when he ran headlong into Ducky.

"Sorry, Anthony, I didn't see you there."

"Hey Ducky, you might know something about this: there's a redhead out there asking for Gibbs who wouldn't tell me her name. I asked her if she was his ex-wife, but she didn't seem to like that much."

Ducky paused as he put the two and two of timing and probability together, his brow furrowing in concern. "Ah. I do wonder if you've just met Jennifer."

"So, who's she then: ex-girlfriend, ex-fiancé? To be honest she seemed pretty pissed off."

Ducky paused, seeming to weigh up how much to tell the young agent. "She was his partner."

"Well now I'm his partner. So, what do I tell Gibbs?

Ducky shrugged. "Tell him whatever she told you to tell him. Trust me, you'll do well to stay out of this one."

"Gibbs!" Tony shouted as the man in question came out of the observation room.

Gibbs paused, turning to look at Tony inquiringly. "What?"

"There's a lady down in the squad room, says she needs to talk to you."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Did you ask for her name?"

"Yeah, she declined."

"Well what does she look like, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, what was left of his patience evaporating fast.

"About 5 foot 7 inches, maybe 5 foot 8, red hair, tied back in a ponytail, really pretty-"

Tony stopped short and winced as Gibbs swore under his breath. It had to be Jenny.

"What was that, Boss?" DiNozzo said, pleasantly surprised to have hit a nerve.

If Gibbs hadn't been in such a hurry, he would have smacked him, but instead he stormed off in the direction of the bullpen. Jenny wasn't the kind to come slinking back, so there had to be something he didn't know, and the kind of thing he might not know that would make her come all the way back here was something he was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

Sure enough, as he rounded the corner to the bullpen, there she was, looking about as uncomfortable as she should, given the circumstances. He noted that she didn't look any happier when she saw him coming.

He walked until he stood in front of her, waiting for her to speak, taking in her dishevelled appearance and the presence of same backpack she'd carried around Europe. _Fresh off the plane. _Something was urgent, then. He figured there was one of two things coming, and one was ridiculous and right out of one of his wives' trashy romance novels, the other was terrifying.

Jenny didn't bother with a greeting. "We need to talk."

"Do we, Jen?"

"Please, Jethro."

She seemed almost embarrassed, or even ashamed, which was unlike her. He also noticed her eyeballing DiNozzo, who'd followed him back from interrogation.

Gibbs took one look at the younger agent and turned back to Jenny. "Conference room," he said, nodding his head towards the elevator.

He was all too aware that DiNozzo was lapping this up and wouldn't put it past him to have his ear pressed against the elevator door within seconds. He made a mental note to make sure they were well and truly in between floors.

Without a word she hoisted her pack roughly onto her back and strode towards the closed metal doors, with Gibbs hot on her tail.

Ducky, who had witnessed the whole exchange from a safe distance, entered the bullpen as they left.

Tony watched with interest as the elevator doors slid shut before turning his attention to Ducky. "When you said 'partners' you meant work partners, right? Because that looked more like the sexual kind to me."

Ducky didn't respond, he simply looked at Tony grimly, letting the younger man figure it out.

"Oh ho, you meant both kinds of partner! Who knew Gibbs was such a silver fox-"

"I'd advise you not to let Gibbs hear you talking like that."

Tony winced. "He's behind me, isn't he."

"Not this time."

"You know, I think I'll sit down here at my desk and do some paperwork."

"A wise choice, Anthony. If you need me, I'll be down in the morgue."


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: _**_Hello :) This is an AU, and for the purposes of the story I've moved things around a little._

**_1991_**_ Gibbs joins NIS_ **_1994_**_ Jenny joins NCIS (in Counter Terrorism)_ **_1995_**_ Jenny's father dies _ **_1996_**_ Jenny joins Gibbs's team in the MCRT in order to fast track her career (to better go after la Grenouille and investigate her father's death)_ **_1999 (mid to late) _**_Gibbs and Jenny work black ops in Europe_ **_2000_**_ Gibbs returns stateside, Jenny leaves him a Dear John, staying on in Europe until she's supposed to transfer to the Middle East_ **_2000 _**_Gibbs starts rebuilding his team and recruits DiNozzo_

_According to this timeline, Rebecca was the first wife, Diane the second, and Stephanie never happened (because Jenny and this story does) and Gibbs doesn't live with her in Moscow._

* * *

It was not a good day. Hell, if this was how it was going to be, it was not going to be a good year, or even a good life.

Jenny was sitting in strange apartment in Paris of all places, trying to figure out just how she was going to get out of this one. NCIS had given her a week off and the keys to some accommodation for a week before she started her new role in the Middle East.

She was livid with a side of prickly numbness, a nasty sensation that trickled from her scalp down the back of her neck that felt like nothing and everything at the same time.

She was in trouble. If there was a time in her life when it was least convenient for her to get pregnant, it was now.

It was too bad then that she had just spent half a year in Europe sleeping with her partner as they conducted covert ops, the two things so completely unrelated and yet very much entwined.

They had been reasonably careful, though reasonably apparently wasn't careful enough, and the statistics of doing something _a lot_ meant they were not on her side.

Her side, their side, a side, the side.

Hot, angry tears streamed down her face and she brushed them away angrily. They were stupid. This this entire situation was _so stupid, _and God knew why she was still sitting here thinking about it when she could easily just terminate and move on without ever uttering a word about it to anyone, but something was stopping her:

Gibbs.

Even now he was important. Even though he wasn't here, even though he had no idea this was happening, even though she _left_ him, she could still see his penetratingly blue stare.

The bastard had scoffed at her with a John Wayne style 'that'll be the day' when she'd told him she loved him and so there had been no reason to stay (and she certainly hadn't done it again).

She stood up abruptly, moving violently towards the apartment's tiny kitchen, her movements all purposeful and a little jagged around the edges. _Where the hell was her cell phone?_

She had left him swiftly and after careful calculation leaving minimal mess for her, or so she had thought, but it did not stop her heart still aching or longing to go back.

Something about carrying a little part of him with her was appealing, which both irked and disturbed her.

Who was she, and what had she done with who she had convinced herself she was, and just how did one go about crawling back in a situation like this anyway?

_"Hey, by the way, I know I left without saying goodbye, yeah, that's because I didn't really want to put my career first but did it anyway, well, I'm back because we need to have 'the talk'."_

Her eyes scanned the kitchen counter, still not locating the offending phone.

She had left her coat and a note and disappeared into the night so she wouldn't have to face him and those damn blue eyes. All things considered she had thought she had got out of that one quite well...until a few days later.

She had been 'late' before. Hell, with the heady cocktail of contraceptive pills and high stress situations, it was almost a given, but it had not occurred to her until a few more days later that this "late" felt different somehow, fuller if possible, whatever that meant.

So, she'd taken a test, and mumbled a string of expletives that had worked all the way up to a snarled "fuck" as it had given her the answer she had been so afraid of:

Positive.

There was nothing positive about this.

She refused believe it. She refused to accept her place on the fast track was over, she refused to believe anything had to change, but at the same time, her already weakened resolve to run headlong into her career had suffered a serious blow.

She sighed loudly with an irritation reserved only for herself. This was far too human, way too pedestrian. All this desperately trying to be as cold as she needed to be to get the job done, and now _this. _

If the universe was trying to tell her something, she was not a fan.

She stalked back to the living area and threw aside a newspaper and some magazines, uncovering her phone on the coffee table where it had been the entire time and woke it up, jabbing a button. She had a Director to call and a flight to book.

She could probably just call Gibbs, he had probably gone back to using the same number as he had had before Europe, the man hated change, but she was going to need some serious in person diplomacy skills for this one.

* * *

To say she felt worse for wear when she arrived at the Navy Yard was an understatement. Her flight had been long, uneventful, teary, and blandly awful. The girly tape in her Walkman he had teased her about on the flight over had made her cry on the way home. Honestly, who's bright idea had it been to bring this album anyway?

Hers apparently.

She did not want to talk about love, her heart would probably go on, she was going to have to tell him at some point, and she definitely hated and loved him, and it didn't help one bit.

She was just grateful she hadn't started feeling sick yet, if that was something that was going to happen, but she was so damn tired. There was a bone deep weariness in her that she usually had to try a lot harder to achieve.

Jenny brushed her no doubt unkempt looking bangs to the side, gear still on her back. She'd kill for a shower right about now. The grime of long haul flights clung to her like a film.

She snorted softly, causing a nearby agent to look at her. Maybe sleeping with Gibbs counted as needing decontamination.

She flashed her badge at security, as they waved her through, and the normality of it all clanged in dissonance with how alien she felt. The alien lands they had been in were enough on their own, but this new...development... only heightened it.

Her senses were on high alert as she walked into the bullpen, her eyes scanning for a particular greying head, which she didn't find.

Her eyes instead fell on Pacci, and she flashed him a tight smile. He smiled a friendly but confused one in return because she wasn't supposed to be anywhere near here.

Her eyes then fell on her old desk, where a tall, young, brown haired man she didn't recognise was now lounging, his feet up on the desk and his thoughts clearly somewhere else.

She paused before approached silently, enjoying the element of surprise. "You don't want to let Gibbs catch you doing that," she said silkily once she was close enough to shock.

The man all but fell off his chair in surprise, recovering himself quickly. "And who, may I ask, are you?"

"You can ask but I'm not telling you. I need to speak to Gibbs, agent…" she let the sentence trail off in a way that all but demanded he fill in that blank.

"DiNozzo," he said, looking mildly perturbed at the information that he'd just volunteered.

"DiNozzo," she said with more than a hint of patronisation.

"Right, and when he asks who's asking what should I tell…him?"

He trailed off at the steely eyed glare she was giving him, one of her brows quirking upward. in irritation as his eyes met hers.

"Right. I'll go get him." He said, hurriedly as he rose from his chair, tripping over his wastepaper basket as he left. He stopped, turning back to her as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, you're not his ex-wife, are you?"

If Jenny's eyes had been formidable before, they were now downright deadly. "No, Agent DiNozzo, I'm not," she said, her voice low and threatening.

"Okay then." Tony said, pointing at her in a feigned casual gesture as he scuttled away, torn between staying longer to gather intelligence, and running away from the very scary but also very beautiful lady.

He'd just rounded the corner into the interrogation corridor when he ran headlong into Ducky.

"Sorry, Anthony, I didn't see you there."

"Hey Ducky, you might know something about this: there's a redhead out there asking for Gibbs who wouldn't tell me her name. I asked her if she was his ex-wife, but she didn't seem to like that much."

Ducky paused as he put the two and two of timing and probability together, his brow furrowing in concern. "Ah. I do wonder if you've just met Jennifer."

"So, who's she then: ex-girlfriend, ex-fiancé? To be honest she seemed pretty pissed off."

Ducky paused, seeming to weigh up how much to tell the young agent. "She was his partner."

"Well now I'm his partner. So, what do I tell Gibbs?

Ducky shrugged. "Tell him whatever she told you to tell him. Trust me, you'll do well to stay out of this one."

"Gibbs!" Tony shouted as the man in question came out of the observation room.

Gibbs paused, turning to look at Tony inquiringly. "What?"

"There's a lady down in the squad room, says she needs to talk to you."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Did you ask for her name?"

"Yeah, she declined."

"Well what does she look like, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, what was left of his patience evaporating fast.

"About 5 foot 7 inches, maybe 5 foot 8, red hair, tied back in a ponytail, really pretty-"

Tony stopped short and winced as Gibbs swore under his breath. It had to be Jenny.

"What was that, Boss?" DiNozzo said, pleasantly surprised to have hit a nerve.

If Gibbs hadn't been in such a hurry, he would have smacked him, but instead he stormed off in the direction of the bullpen. Jenny wasn't the kind to come slinking back, so there had to be something he didn't know, and the kind of thing he might not know that would make her come all the way back here was something he was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

Sure enough, as he rounded the corner to the bullpen, there she was, looking about as uncomfortable as she should, given the circumstances. He noted that she didn't look any happier when she saw him coming.

He walked until he stood in front of her, waiting for her to speak, taking in her dishevelled appearance and the presence of same backpack she'd carried around Europe. _Fresh off the plane. _Something was urgent, then. He figured there was one of two things coming, and one was ridiculous and right out of one of his wives' trashy romance novels, the other was terrifying.

Jenny didn't bother with a greeting. "We need to talk."

"Do we, Jen?"

"Please, Jethro."

She seemed almost embarrassed, or even ashamed, which was unlike her. He also noticed her eyeballing DiNozzo, who'd followed him back from interrogation.

Gibbs took one look at the younger agent and turned back to Jenny. "Conference room," he said, nodding his head towards the elevator.

He was all too aware that DiNozzo was lapping this up and wouldn't put it past him to have his ear pressed against the elevator door within seconds. He made a mental note to make sure they were well and truly in between floors.

Without a word she hoisted her pack roughly onto her back and strode towards the closed metal doors, with Gibbs hot on her tail.

Ducky, who had witnessed the whole exchange from a safe distance, entered the bullpen as they left.

Tony watched with interest as the elevator doors slid shut before turning his attention to Ducky. "When you said 'partners' you meant work partners, right? Because that looked more like the sexual kind to me."

Ducky didn't respond, he simply looked at Tony grimly, letting the younger man figure it out.

"Oh ho, you meant both kinds of partner! Who knew Gibbs was such a silver fox-"

"I'd advise you not to let Gibbs hear you talking like that."

Tony winced. "He's behind me, isn't he."

"Not this time."

"You know, I think I'll sit down here at my desk and do some paperwork."

"A wise choice, Anthony. If you need me, I'll be down in the morgue."


	3. Chapter 3

**The writing might seem a little uneven between these chapters, and that's because I'm alternating going through and re-editing chapter by chapter (starting with this one) and working on the new one. I was very rusty when I started this story, but I've learned a few things since then :)**

_**And in response to TivaFurious:** I don't have any plans to include Ziva in this story, no. I love Ziva but don't feel like contriving a reason for her to be here at this point would add anything to the story I'm trying to tell here._

_I'll be following the order of when people joined the team, so Kate's next._

* * *

Sleep had taken far too long to come for Jenny that night, and when it had finally claimed her, she'd tossed and turned in fitful bouts.

Their conversation the night before weighed heavily on her mind, and now it was midday and she was still holed up in bed.

Jethro had had a wife and daughter, and they'd _died._

Reality felt like it had warped. Really, it explained a lot about him, but if anything, knowing only made it worse.

His issues had a cause now, they even had names, and it had her questioning what it meant for the future. To say that his response when she'd brought up feelings before she'd left didn't inspire confidence was an understatement.

Her alarm clock began blaring and she rolled onto her stomach and smacked the button to make it stop.

She'd never thought of Gibbs as a father before, and now she didn't know how she could possibly have missed it. He'd always been so gentle and understanding when there was a child involved, seemingly having a sixth sense for what they, and it all made sense. She'd been looking at a caring father.

She slumped back onto her pillow and tried to ignore the pang of emotion that hit her. She felt so deeply, profoundly sorry for him, and now she was worried that she might never measure up to a pair of ghosts, though she didn't know that for a fact, and she supposed he deserved a chance to prove her wrong.

She missed him, she missed everything they had together, and being back in the same city as the man was only serving to heighten her sense of separation.

And then there was her father. A man long gone whose opinion still seemed to matter.

He'd been _unhappy_ when she'd joined NCIS. The expectation had been that he'd use his connections and she'd get some cushy job on the hill, but when the time had come, the idea had bored her.

He was Army, and he'd seen war, so the idea of his daughter being associated with the Navy sent him into a rage. He'd gone from yelling, to trying to talk her out of it to refusing to speak to her. He had paid for some of her tuition, dammit, so he had a say in what she did with it. She had no doubt that when he died, he'd been rolling in his grave.

Since then she'd become a field agent with a gun and everything, fallen in love with her boss, gone on a risky covert ops mission in Europe with said boss, slept with said boss, got shot, and become pregnant by said boss.

His death had her immediately requesting a field assignment, because field experience, because field experience would help get you to the top, and you could do all kinds of things from the top including, but not limited to, hunting amphibians.

If her father had been rolling then, maybe he was spinning now.

That had been her plan: rise to the top (preferably fast tracked), clear his name, and eliminate _'The Frog'_, only she had not counted on life getting in the way, especially not so spectacularly.

Suddenly seeking justice for her father seemed less important and slid quietly into the back seat.

She had never been able to shake the hurt or the searing injustice of it all, but in Paris she'd oh so briefly considered giving it all up for Gibbs, only to have that resoundingly dashed, but even without him, the prospect of becoming a mother had given her something unexpected: Something to hold onto that wasn't avenging her father.

She groaned, rolling herself out of bed and ran a hand through her hair before staggering towards the bathroom.

She had a doctor's appointment in an hour; one where they would be discussing things far outside her comfort zone, and for that she was going to need one very long, very hot shower.

* * *

The appointment had gone off without a hitch, and she was sent on her way armed with a print detailing the very surreal contents of her uterus, which was grainy, monochrome and far more human than she'd expected.

She turned the key in the ignition and rested her hands on the wheel as she deliberated her next move. She could either go home to nobody, or she could go to Gibbs and tell him that everything was fine. After a moment's pause, she chose the latter and maneuvered her way out of the parking lot. She started to laugh, only to tamp it down a block later when it began to take on a hysterical edge. This entire situation was insane, and she was starting to think she might be too.

When she arrived she took a moment to gather herself. His house showed no obvious signs of life, but that wasn't unusual. She let herself in, not bothering to knock, and trod the familiar path to the basement.

Gibbs was pencilling a mark onto the piece of wood he'd been measuring. He paused when he heard a floorboard creak above him, only to smile as he recognised the gait. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her, or the fact that she was pregnant. It should bother him, he thought. He'd certainly spent enough time avoiding fatherhood with his ex-wives, yet the thought of this felt oddly natural.

Sure enough, a moment later the woman in question started down the stairs. He put down his pencil watched and her descend, the stairs creaking as she did.

She seemed hesitant, maybe a little self-conscious, and ever so slightly bigger around the middle; something he only noticed because of his intimate knowledge of how it had been before, and this fact stunned him into staring.

Jenny smiled and raised an eyebrow at him, "What is it, Jethro?"

"You're bigger."

She ducked her head and flushed pink, his observation clearly catching her off guard.

"Everything okay?" he asked. Her appearance in his basement wouldn't have been unusual a year ago, but the territory they now found themselves in was completely uncharted and there was a whole slew of things that could possibly go wrong.

"Everything's fine. I just stopped by to give you this," she replied, holding out an envelope to him, which he took after a moment's hesitation. The last letter from her had been filled with floral language explaining why she was gone and wasn't coming back, and weeks later, that ink had barely dried.

He made short work of the envelope. flipping the flap open to peer at the contents. It was no letter and he sucked in a breath of air as he realised what he was looking at. Good to her word, Jen had been to see a doctor and had come back with a souvenir. He carefully slid it out of the paper and studied the grainy black and white print. It was tiny, it looked kind of like an alien, but there on film was the unmistakable form of a baby.

"You're more than eight weeks." Gibbs observed gruffly as he noticed the numbers at the top.

"A little over ten weeks. It's only an estimate, but they took measurements."

He nodded. He remembered how it went. He hadn't been there for much when Shannon had been pregnant with Kelly, but he'd been there for this part. "How are you feeling?"

"A little queasy now and then, and I can't _stand_ broccoli." Jenny said, smiling wryly.

He laughed at the absurdity of a personal vendetta against broccoli in anyone older than the age of 12, especially given Jenny had happily eaten said vegetable and others off of his plate more than once while in Europe. He stared at the woman in front of him and she held his gaze with her own. She was beautiful, breathtaking even, and he'd missed her. "You wanna go for dinner?"

She checked her watch. "Jethro, it's 3pm!"

"How about we go for hot chocolate, then dinner."

She pursed her lips at him before she smiled in a way that lit up her entire face. "Hot chocolate?"

"You can't drink coffee."

She laughed. "That sounds nice."

He grabbed his jacket and slipped his arm through hers but was unable to stop himself from pressing his lips to her cheek. He allowed his lips to linger, and he breathed in the smell and warmth of her, and for a moment it was like they'd never left Paris.

He felt her breath hitch. "Jethro..." she whispered, and she looked at him with a cryptic smile. It would only be a tiny reach and a little bit of a stretch to turn her head and kiss her, but he didn't press his luck. She'd left him after all, and he had no idea where the boundaries were.

He was still screwed, only for the first time since '91, there was the ghost of a sense that might be okay with that. There would be penance to be done later, and he would have to convince

"Hey, did you hear Diane shacked up with Fornell?"

Jenny laughed, and that gloriously throaty sound followed them up the stairs. "She _what?_"

* * *

Jenny lasted a whole day at home before she decided she'd had enough of taking time off. There was nothing to tidy, Noemi had taken care of that, and she didn't have any hobbies. This only left thinking and sleeping, and she'd had more than enough of both.

This time her arrival at NCIS was delightfully mundane. She breezed through the lobby safely wrapped in her usual business attire, right down to the heel, and her pack contained only a pair of sensible shoes. The cup of sweet tea she was carrying didn't hurt either, caffeine be damned.

When the elevator delivered her to the squad room, she noted with no small amount of satisfaction that there was no sign of Gibbs or DiNozzo.

"Morning, Pacci." She said and flashed a smile at the neighbouring agent as she walked past.

He looked confused but smiled anyway. "Heya, Shepard. You back now, are you?"

"I am."

"Lucky Gibbs," he said with a wide grin.

She allowed herself a small and kept walking while she weighed up her options for seating positions. A cursory glance had her deciding on the desk next to Gibbs. It was not only closer to him, but further away from DiNozzo, which as far as she was concerned, could only be a good thing.

She stowed her pack behind her new desk and sat down, reclining languidly in the chair, and taking a sip of tea as she waited for the men to arrive. She didn't have to wait long before Tony came in, striding blearily towards his desk.

Jenny smirked. "Good morning, Agent DiNozzo," she said before he'd had a chance to notice her.

To her satisfaction he squawked in surprise, recoiling as he realised just who it was that had scared him.

He took a second to compose himself. "So, what can I do for you, _'Jennifer'?_" he asked, pronouncing her name with more sarcasm than the rest of the question.

"Nothing, Agent DiNozzo." She purred and pursed her lips, feeling satisfied that she had him on the back foot yet again.

He narrowed his eyes and attempted some kind impression of a bad cop. "Are you sure about that?"

"Very."

An awkward beat of silence followed, and she watched his expression battle between uncomfortable and pissed. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked testily.

"Waiting."

"For..."

"Gibbs." Jenny retorted indulgently, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, because he seemed so happy to see you last time-"

He was cut short by Gibbs's hand meeting the back of his head as the other man entered the bullpen and Jenny shot a smug smile in DiNozzo's direction.

"Hiya boss. Someone here to see you," Tony said, wincing as he rubbed the place Gibbs's hand had connected.

"I can see that, DiNozzo."

Gibbs then turned his attention to Jenny. "What are you doing here, Jen?"

"Reporting to work," she retorted smartly.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "You're four days early."

"I got bored."

"Fine." Gibbs said before turning back to DiNozzo, which caused the younger man's mouth to hang open. "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, this is Special Agent Jenny Shepard."

"Guess that makes me the bottom of the food chain, then."

"Uhuh."

"Great." Tony muttered, just loud enough for Gibbs to hear.

Gibbs glared at him. "What was that, DiNozzo?"

"I said 'Great to have her working with us', boss!"

Jenny pinned Tony with a knowing stare.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and continued. "She'll be assisting us with desk work and crime scenes that have already been secured"

Tony looked at Jenny and narrowed his eyes and was clearly trying to put the pieces together as to why that might be the case. "Is this special treatment a girl thing, or...?"

Jenny thwacked a stack of files down on her desk loudly and Gibbs gave him a hard stare.

"Right, I guess I'll never ask that question again." Tony said to no one in particular before turning his attention back to Jenny. "So, what do I call you: Jen?"

"Jenny."

"Well then how come he calls you Jen?" Tony asked, pointing to Gibbs with his thumb.

Gibbs looked between the two as Jenny tilted her chin downwards and glared at Tony while DiNozzo bit his fist to stop god-only-knew-what coming out of his mouth.

He sighed. He was happy to have Jenny back again, on the team or otherwise, but he was starting to get the feeling he was going to have to spend time babysitting Jenny and DiNozzo both to keep her stress levels down and to stop her from killing his newest agent.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thank you again to everyone who's reading/reviewing/enjoying this story! Your reviews make my day x.  
**

**This chapter was edited and re-uploaded on 30/07/2020**

* * *

Gibbs sat in the cool quiet of his basement and tipped a handful of screws out of a mason jar, only to replace them with a couple of fingers of bourbon. He swirled it around the glass sides of the jar and took a sip. His eyes caught the scan photo Jenny had left him the week before and he slid it towards himself. He was going to be a father again and it didn't feel real. He ran his thumb over the monochrome image as he tried to get a handle on his emotions. Part of him was happy, he knew that much, it just happened to be mixed with fear and a side helping of turmoil as it rubbed against his past, and despite the early stage, he could feel himself getting attached. More than once he'd caught himself eyeing the pile of timber he had stacked neatly in the corner and mentally assembling it into a crib.

And then there was Jen. Working with her had been testing his resolve both physically and mentally, and between furtive glances and occasional touching they'd been avoiding their relationship entirely, even though the easy intimacy they'd shared still lurked below the surface. He could feel it and could tell she did too. DiNozzo had been watching them like a hawk. The fact that she looked so damn good wasn't helping either. Jen always looked good, a fact which played no small part in getting them where they were today, but he'd noticed changes. Her hair had started to grow out of the sleek bob she had cut it into by the end of their mission, and her face was just that little bit fuller and cheeks pinker. The fabled pregnancy glow suited her well, and as blindsided as he'd been by her announcement, there was a part of him that was feeling incredibly self-satisfied at being the one to do this to her. He smirked at the thought.

He'd been wracking his brain trying to remember how Shannon had been with Kelly but being a Marine on active duty had meant that he'd missed out on a lot.

Jen's proximity wasn't something he took for granted, but the idea that this time around would be full of firsts that he'd missed with Kelly felt bittersweet.

The currently undefined nature of his relationship with Jenny bothered him. That night she'd brought over the scan photo there'd been the distinct feeling that he could have pushed things further but had held himself back, and the fact that she left him still stuck in his craw. She'd caught him off guard in Paris, said things about feelings he'd been trying to ignore, and any adequate reply had got stuck in his throat. It was his fault she'd left, and he could see her face falling all over again in his mind's eye.

He swigged a mouthful of drink.

He wanted to protect her and keep her close, now more than ever. They were going to be a family.

He downed what was left of his drink and placed the jar loudly on the workbench, all thoughts of the 'f' word dredging up old cobwebs and dread.

He reached for the bottle and poured another measure into the jar.

But no matter what, whatever it took, he was going to be there, for all of this.

* * *

Tony strolled into the lab looking for his fellow recently acquired employee. He was bursting to talk to someone about the nature of Jenny's existence and other than Abby he had limited choices.

The woman in question would probably order his execution if he asked what he wanted to know, and knowing Gibbs she'd get it, and he'd be the one to carry it out. That left Pacci, but Pacci had laughed and told him to ask Gibbs. Then there was Ducky, who had flat out refused to elaborate further, which only left Abby, their recently acquired, domesticated goth and forensic scientist.

"Hey Abby," Tony called as he looked around the lab trying to locate her.

Abby's head popped up from behind her desk in an unnervingly perky fashion that clashed with her appearance. "What can I do for you, Tony?"

He walked over to her looking more than a little shifty and unable to shake the feeling that Gibbs might magically appear. "You hear about our new team member?" He asked, trying for nonchalance.

Abby gave him a calculating look. "Oh yeah, I've met her, she seems nice."

Tony scoffed. "Nice, she is not nice. I mean, how can someone be that doe-eyed and scary at the same time? But there's something weird going on there, don't you think?" he said, determined to persist with his line of inquiry.

Abby narrowed her eyes as she tried to gauge his angle. "Define weird."

"Well let's see. She's on our team yet she's basically assigned to desk duty, came with us to a crime scene the other day but looked like she was going to barf, and then Gibbs told her to go wait in the car! Can you believe that? He never lets anyone stay in the car. Then there's the fact that he's always checking up on her, he looks at his desk more often than he glares at me, and that's saying something. And it's really obvious, what with her desk being beside his, not across from it. Oh, and bathroom breaks, she's always wandering off in that direction, and the weirdest part of all is that Gibbs is just putting up with it like nothing is happening.

Abby's face split into a wide grin.

"What?" Tony asked, perturbed that she'd got something from his spiel that he'd missed.

"You're saying that you can't think of anything that would cause all of those symptoms?"

Tony frowned. "Symptoms? What symptoms" Realisation dawned across his face. "Ohhhh, symptoms." He grinned triumphantly. "I thought she was a little pudgy around the middle for someone that slim!"

"Don't let her hear you say that," Abby said, looking pointedly at the door.

"Well then that begs the question as to why she's even on our team if she's knocked up."

"Well for that you'd have to ask the question as to who did the knocking up."

Another grin spread across his face as the pieces slid into place in ways that seemed obvious now that he knew. "Oh that makes sense. They were on some kind of mission together in Europe before this, that must have been how it happened. It's kinda odd isn't it? I mean, I haven't known the guy long, but he really doesn't seem to be the kind of guy to do that."

"It's not that strange, he'll make a great dad."

"Yeah, but to get his partner pregnant. I'm just trying to think of my partner at Baltimore as a woman, eurgh," he said, making a face of disgust.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked sharply, having appeared silently in the doorway to the lab.

Tony flinched. "Yes boss, shutting up boss! I'll just...go and run down those plates Jenny found and stay out of her way, boss!"

Abby stood, beaming at Gibbs as Tony scarpered.

Gibbs sighed quietly. "What?" He asked, even though he knew, and If possible, her smile grew even wider. "Congratulations, Gibbs!" The goth said, throwing her arms awkwardly around him. He patted her on the back before attempting to extricate himself. "How exciting! You tell Agent Shepard that if she ever needs to take a break, she's always welcome in my lab!"

He gave her a half smile. "I'll tell her, Abs."

"Abs," she said, pondering the shortened name he'd just called her, "I like it. is it a boy or a girl?"

"Don't know."

"When's she due?

"August. The case, Abby," he said in a semi-futile attempt to get her off of his back.

"Of course," she said and turned back to her computer with a smile.

* * *

Gibbs looked at the time at the bottom of his monitor before shooting Jenny a pointed look, which she promptly ignored.

"Go home, Jen," he said and swivelled his chair to face her. It was 7pm, DiNozzo had left an hour ago, and as far as he was concerned, she should be eating or sleeping or something self-care related, and working overtime wasn't that.

"Only if you take your own advice," she shot back.

Gibbs looked at her balefully before standing up and grabbing his coat. He wasn't sure what her game was and quite frankly, he didn't care. "Walk to your car?" he offered.

Jenny pursed her lips as if she were considering arguing, but instead pushed herself away from her desk and stood up. "I take it the expression DiNozzo's had on his face all afternoon means he's figured it out?"

"Yup."

"Great," Jenny said, her voice and expression deadpan as she donned her coat. "How long until everyone in the building knows?"

"Oh, I give it until lunch time tomorrow," Gibbs commented dryly as they headed for the elevator. He jabbed the call button.

Jenny shook her head and smiled. "That guy is more Burley than Stan could ever hope to be." She said and smiled wryly, which in turn elicited a soft chuckle from Gibbs.

"Think we can fool DiNozzo into doing something scandalous so that no one notices us?" she asked, only half serious.

"Like what, Jen? They've been taking bets on us since before we left for Europe. Abby's excited."

"Well I'm glad someone is," she said as the elevator arrived.

Gibbs looked at her sharply, surprised by her statement. He'd expected her to have some reservations but hearing her actually say it had him somewhat taken aback.

She looked up at him with a weary expression and sighed. "It's all too uncertain for me to be excited, Jethro."

He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it what he hoped was a comforting squeeze. She held his gaze, but her expression remained uncertain. "How are we going to do this anyway?" She asked.

"What, have a baby?"

She scoffed. "Pretty sure we've got that part sorted. I meant more what are we going to do with it when it gets here."

"We love it, we take care of it."

"But what about us, are we together or apart in this?" Jenny said, charting a course straight into the elephant in the room.

"That's up to you."

"Is it?"

A rush of conflicting emotions rushed through him, jamming on exit. "You left!" He blurted too loudly as the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened, and the hurt at what had felt like betrayal was as fresh as ever.

"Can you blame me, Jethro? I confessed having feelings for you and you threw them back in my face. At that point, my career was looking more solid than anything you had to offer!" She hissed as they made for the exit of the building, attracting the stares of the security guards and a few fellow agents.

"Then why are you here, Jen?"

She whirled to face him; her cheeks flushed against the cool evening air. "You had a right to know, and I'm not going to deprive it of its father! I grew up with one parent, and I don't want the same for our child. My father meant everything to me. I also meant what I said in Paris, and that hasn't magically gone away because I got out," she hissed at him, her voice laced with venom.

"Got out! What does that make me, a mission that went bad?" he shouted as they neared her car.

"You know what I mean!"

He did, he just didn't want to. Gibbs ran a hand roughly down the bottom half of his face. He didn't so much blame her, but he was angry at her for forcing some of his most glaring flaws to the surface for examination. "It's hard, Jen," he ground out.

"You think it isn't for me?" she demanded; her voice dangerously low.

"It's not the same!"

"And how do you know? My father died, Jethro. He was all I had in the whole world, and he was framed as a criminal and then murdered. He gave his life to the army, he worked hard for the respect he deserved, and they threw him out like trash! It might not be exactly the same as losing a wife and daughter, but you're not the only person on this planet who's lost someone!" She was shouting at him now. "You're not the only one who hurts."

Her voice wavered, and he saw her tears a moment before they started to fall. "C'mere, Jen," he murmured as he did the only thing he could at that point and swiftly pulled her to his chest. He tangled his fingers in her hair and cradled her head, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he reeled from the shots she'd just fired, uncomfortable pieces falling into place.

'You're not the only one who hurts.' Her words reverberated through his head. At least one ex-wife had yelled something similar at him before, but never to such an effect. He'd just dismissed them outright and waited for the marriage to die of natural causes and avoided dealing with it altogether, but this was different and infinitely more complicated. Jen was under his skin to the point of no return and it was starting to converge uncomfortably with the past.

He wasn't afraid of falling for her. Attraction coupled with a natural affinity for each other had made affection a natural progression, then time and intimacy had turned that into what could only be described as love. He loved her, it was as simple as that, and as much as he'd tried to avoid looking at it head on for fear of getting burnt, he was in the middle of it and it wasn't going anywhere.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** In this chapter we begin the case file part of this story, which is going to incorporate parts of Yankee White, so any dialogue/plot points/whatever you recognise is from there and obviously not mine, though I've replaced a lot of it with my own. I may end up writing in some more S1 episodes, but I haven't decided yet :)

Updates are probably going to get slightly slower after this, but the aim is that they still won't take too long. I'm still working on it, but my baby is a little older now and has decided he's no longer happy just lying on the floor playing with toys, so carving out time to write is just that little bit harder.

Enjoy ^_^

**Edited and updated 22/8/2020**

* * *

In true Gibbs fashion he hadn't said anything other than a muttered 'goodnight' and had reverted back to being functionally mute. Twice now she had put in the effort to open up a little, and both times he'd pulled the 'strong and silent type', and quite frankly, and if he wasn't even going to try then what was the damn point?

Jenny slammed the heavy oak front door behind her which rattled a nearby side table as it did.

He'd offered to drive her home, but when the silence had continued, she'd simply disentangled herself from his grasp and left him standing in the parking lot.

"Will someone please tell me why I came back again?" she asked her empty entryway, her voice echoing off the hard floor as she did. Her heels clacked on the tiles.

Really, she couldn't have stayed pregnant and not come back, but didn't lessen the sentiment. Running operations in the Middle East while taking care of a baby would have been impossible, and though circumstances were truly fucking lamentable, she was finding it impossible to truly regret coming home.

She headed for the study, but paused, heading instead for the kitchen as she changed her mind mid-step. She observed the old, wooden furniture that adorned the halls as she did, most of it older than she was. The house was full of it; the scrolling wooden tables, her grandmother's dresser, and the coat rack her father had put his hat on when he came through the door. The house was full of history, but since returning, it had started to feel less like home, and more like a house that once belonged to the ghosts she was unable to forget. It was her father's house; it was just that he was no longer there.

Her mind drifted back to Gibbs. His house was a spartan affair and had been since she'd known him, yet somehow it fit, it _felt _right, though after their 'discussion' this evening that point was probably moot and the best-case scenario was going to be that the kid ended up with a bedroom in each.

She yanked open the fridge and gazed at its contents dispassionately before closing the door again in disgust.

Then there was work, which was speeding up her descent into madness with its slow, monotonous march. Her days were spent reading old files and making phone calls, and Agent DiNozzo was an idiot. He wasn't certainly wasn't dull, but any points he gained there were utterly destroyed by the sheer irritation she felt towards him. Hidden in there was a man both sharp and ballsy, and she could see why Gibbs had hired him, but his façade was incessant, and he was driving her insane.

There were only so many hours in a day she could enjoy putting him back in his place, and for the rest of that time she was wearing down her molars, and the desk work she was doing while dealing with this was increasingly tedious. She shook her head. To think that her first position at NCIS had been a desk job, albeit a very different one, and these days when the stars aligned and she could actually accompany the men into the field, Gibbs spent the entire time breathing down her neck to make sure nothing dangerous was about to happen.

She had half a mind to request a transfer back to her old job as an analyst, but that wouldn't solve any of her personal problems, and Gibbs would just come and find her anyway.

She huffed as her stomach grumbled, though whether it was a hungry grumble or a 'don't even try to feed me' grumble was anyone's guess. There was barely a moment anymore that wasn't covered by hungry, thirsty, queasy, needing to pee, or all of them at the same time, and the latest development was that wearing a bra was driving her crazy, though all hell would probably break loose if she went to work without one, most likely starting with DiNozzo.

She reopened the fridge and grabbed a plate of last night's dinner with a wrinkled nose and tipped the meat and vegetables off the side into the nearby bin which left her with a pile of mashed potatoes that didn't turn her stomach on sight. "Three cheers for carbohydrates," she muttered and opened the microwave, but food was food, and with all the weight she was going to put on anyway, maybe nobody would notice.

* * *

Gibbs thudded angrily down the stairs to his basement and went straight for the jar and bottle still out where he'd left them. His gut was in turmoil along with the rest of him. He picked up the jar only to slam it down again without opening the bottle, because no matter how much he drank it wasn't going to help. He sank down onto the stool next to him and his eyes fell on the tape recorder he kept nearby. He stared at it and slid it closer, pressing his finger down on the well-worn 'play' button. Kelly's voice crackled to life._ "Listen to me, Daddy!"_ she exclaimed and then began to sing nursery rhymes he'd taught her when he'd been home. He stopped the tape after two songs, but he knew it by heart. It had been the summer of '88, and Kelly had been four years old. He started the tape again, and this time it was Shannon's voice coming out of the tiny speaker. _"She's getting so big, Jethro, we can't wait to see you!"_ and he had a few months later.

The tape clicked off and he swallowed thickly. That time they'd been there when he'd returned home. That time he'd had no idea what it was like not to be able to forgive himself for not being there when they'd needed him.

He could see the black and white print in his peripheral vision, along with it the realisation that he was a coward.

He was angry with Jenny, and it was all for daring to mean something to him and not be Shannon. He'd spent his deployments dreaming of his little family back home - Shannon's gentle, caressing touch, the smell of her skin, Kelly's laugh, the feel of her hair against his face as she ran to him for a hug, and all the years since imagining they were still here.

Two poorly chosen wives later and he was satisfied that there was no one else for him but Shannon. _And then there was Jen. _He relented and poured a generous splash of bourbon into the jar.

From the moment she'd poked her heel-clad toes into his life they'd had something, and then one thing led to another. With them, one thing was always going to lead to another.

He'd laughed when he first saw the picture attached to her file: Too pretty, too qualified, too his type. Whether it had been done intentionally or was whatever passed as fate he never found out, but they were well and truly beyond that now.

There'd been a moment in Paris when the sunlight caught her hair, and she'd smiled at him in a way that hit him square in the chest, and it had been then he knew: there was a lot more between them than lust, and it had sat uneasily ever since.

It wasn't her fault, but he'd blamed her anyway, because blame was easier than taking any kind of responsibility. She'd punched a hole in his carefully constructed safe-zone, and under it all, he wanted her in there.

He'd seen the exact moment the shutters had fallen behind her eyes and he'd done nothing about it but stand and watch her go.

She wasn't Shannon, she could never _be_ Shannon, but she shouldn't have to be. His anger had faded, leaving only an uncomfortable melancholy.

He'd spent his deployments dreaming of his little family back home - Shannon's gentle touch, the smell of her skin, Kelly's laugh, the feel of her hair against his face as she ran to him for a hug, and all the years since focussed on the injustice of having them ripped away.

It was time to move on, or he'd be up for losing a whole lot more.

He ran a hand down his face. He was in love with Jenny, and he had been for a long time, and she'd just freely admitted to still loving him. For all the hurt, for all the anger and railing against it he had to at least try, starting with breaking Rule 6: '_Never say you're sorry, it's a sign of weakness'_, because sometimes it was called for - sometimes he was wrong.

* * *

He didn't see Jenny again for almost a week. She'd left him a message at a carefully chosen time telling him that she was taking days off and that Morrow had approved it. She was avoiding him. He'd suppressed his first reflex, which was to go and confront her head on because a twinge deep in his gut told him that would only make things worse. He'd settled instead for the far less preferred second choice of calling her. The first attempt had yielded nothing, but when he'd tried again moments later it barely had a chance to ring and he allowed himself a grin.

_"I'm fine, Jethro, you can stop calling me" _

"The baby?"

_"Is also fine."_

"You're not being held hostage?"

There was a beat's silence before she'd answered. _"No."_

"You sure."

_"I need space, and time." _

"Will you come back?" He asked, and bended to his insecurities.

_"That depends."_

"On?"

"_What you say when I do. Goodbye, Jethro," _She'd said and ended the call.

Her farewell had been weary and her tone final, and against his instincts, he'd left her alone.

DiNozzo had spent the rest of the week shooting him concerned looks, eventually asking if Jenny was still on their team, but after a curt nod to the affirmative, the younger agent stopped mentioning it, though it didn't stop the furtive glances as if he was expecting something to happen.

It was now Saturday and they were meant to be having the day off, but the fact the phone on the basement wall was ringing meant that it was unlikely to be the case.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he said into the receiver, half expecting to hear Jenny's voice on the other end of the line, but his ears were instead greeted with DiNozzo.

"A navy commander carrying the football on Air Force One just carked it in the air."

"Where'd they land?"

"Wichita, Kansas. The president's transferring to the backup bird. I booked us on a United flight out of Reagan; stops in Dallas before going on to Wichita."

"That the best you can do?"

"It's a Saturday, Gibbs. Y'know if we had our own jet…"

"We don't."

"Hey, is Shepard back with us? I wasn't sure, but I booked her a seat as well."

"Yup," he said in what was a half-truth. Friday was the final day she was officially out for, though she was probably expecting to be out until Monday.

"Are you gonna call her, or shall I?"

"You can."

Tony made a noise of surprise as he got an answer he wasn't expecting, but right now, he had a better chance of her answering than he did. Gibbs ignored him and continued. "Ducky's buds with coroners all over the country, see if you can't get one of them to hold the body for us until we get out there."

"On it, boss," he said and hung up.

Gibbs replaced the receiver and headed for the stairs.

* * *

The team arrived at the domestic terminal at about the same time, with Tony and Gibbs nearing the automatic doors as Jenny climbed out of a cab.

"Hey boss, there she is," Tony said and flicked his head in her direction.

Gibbs paused to take in her appearance; it was business casual as usual, topped off with a pair of large sunglasses, her red hair pulled into a messy ponytail. His eyes drifted to the ever-present evidence of life inside and back up again as she regarded him coolly from behind her shades.

"Jen," Gibbs greeted evenly.

"Gibbs," she greeted in kind, her face giving away nothing.

Tony watched them with an odd sort of trepidation. He knew he should look away sometime soon before either one of NCIS's power couple decided to end him, but at the same time he couldn't because they were fascinating. He was glad it had nothing to do with him, but also it did, because he was a third of their team. It was like some sort of iced-over Mexican standoff, or maybe it was just a regular standoff because if there was one thing he'd observed about these two over the weeks, it was that Gibbs would likely let her win.

Jenny meanwhile felt Gibbs's eyes on her again and ignored him. With everything between them her emotional state was frayed, and if she was going to have a breakdown, even if it was about him, he wasn't invited.

Gibbs grabbed Jenny's gear before she could get to it and left Tony to do most of the schlepping.

"Shall we?" Tony asked a little too brightly in what was a futile attempt to break the obvious tension. He watched as both parties began walking without a word, and concluded that whatever Gibbs had done, and he had to have done something, he must have _really_ pissed her off. He was also quietly impressed, because he'd never seen anyone successfully pull a Gibbs on Gibbs before. Jenny was all stone and silence and directing it at the master himself, and, more importantly, getting away with it. He watched them walk in half step with one another, in some strange kind of sync down to their seemingly mutual consternation. It was only more obvious in her because he all but expected it from the boss.

He winced and he remembered that favour he did when he booked the seats: Gibbs and Jenny seated together, leaving him with Ducky a few rows behind. Maybe best not to mention it.

When they entered the building, Jenny pushed her glasses up onto her head as Tony prattled about private jets in an attempt to fill their silence. "FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, even NYPD have private jets."

She rolled her eyes and cracked a small smile. "The Navy can get a hold of one when it needs to, it just didn't think a flight with you on it was worth the money."

Tony pulled a face at her.

"Look," Gibbs said, turning a glare on DiNozzo, having had enough of this conversation, "Thirty-six cents a mile. You wanna drive?"

"It's embarrassing," Tony protested.

"Hey, we're LEOs," Gibbs said to the airport security officer as they reached the front of the TSA line

"I'm a Capricorn," he shot back lamely.

"LEO, short for Law Enforcement Officer," Tony said, flashing his badge.

"You new at this, Dennis?" Gibbs asked and squinted at the TSA officer's name tag.

"First week," Dennis replied with a sheepish grin. "NCIS", he spelled out, "Never heard of it."

"Now _that's_ embarrassing." Jenny said in a conspiratorial stage whisper to the other two.

"NCIS...anything like CSI?" Dennis asked, clearly not having learned from this encounter so far.

"Only if you're dyslexic," Tony quipped, having had enough of this guy.

Dennis eventually agreed to let them and their weapons through but protested at their bags.

"You're letting us take weapons aboard, but you want to scan our bags?" Gibbs asked incredulously.

"You've got permits for the weapons, you don't for the bags."

"We're about to miss our flight." Jenny said pointedly, in an effort to impart upon Dennis that he needed to hurry the hell up.

"Dennis!" Ducky called from just inside departures, "Those bags are mine!"

"Well why didn't you just say you were schlepping for the doc?"

Various sounds of irritation came from the trio as they grabbed their stuff and hurried through.

"Move it, lady and gentlemen, don't want to miss our flight!" Ducky yelled in their direction. They didn't need to be told twice.

Finally through security, Gibbs stormed off in search of coffee.

"He better hurries up, we'll be boarding in a moment," Ducky said, shaking his head.

"Are we sitting together or all over the place?" Jenny asked.

"You're with Gibbs, I'm with Ducky."

"I'll give you twenty dollars to trade places."

"No way, I'm not spending the entire flight sitting next to the boss."

Jenny turned her large eyes on Ducky who relented almost immediately.

"I'll trade, my dear, but I have to ask, is everything okay between the two of you?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" she asked, but her response was unconvincing, as was her smile, which caused Tony and Ducky to exchange worried glances.

"Gibbs!" Tony yelled as the man in question came back into view, just as the announcement for their flight came over the PA"

_"Now boarding United Flight 164 to Dallas." _


	6. Chapter 6

They were mere minutes into their flight across the country when Jenny started to regret her choice of seating.

"So uh, things must be pretty bad if you'd rather sit next to me than Gibbs," Tony said, flashing a self-satisfied grin at his travel companion.

Jenny gave him a tight smile in return that conveyed exactly what she thought of this conversation, but Tony was unperturbed.

"What's going on between you and him anyway?"

"You mean besides the obvious?" Jenny deadpanned, arching her eyebrows as she glared at him in displeasure. He was, she noted, less scared of her than he used to be and was showing no sign of shutting up.

"Well see it depends on what you mean by obvious, because right now it's more obvious that you're pissed at him than it is that you're pregnant."

Jenny let out an impatient huff of air, and her eyes took on a steely glint. "Everything's fine."

"Come on, what did he do?" Tony said, having decided to push his luck for as much mileage as it would give him.

Jenny's only response was to turn and glare out the plane window.

"Okay, what didn't he do?" Tony watched as her posture became even more rigid and figured he had hit a nerve, but that wasn't about to stop him. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but he found her demeanour and wish to be away from Gibbs kind of concerning. His prickly boss and the boss's almost equally prickly girlfriend, and yet here he was. "He didn't dump you, did he?"

Tony was unprepared for the depth of the pain he saw when she turned her now furious eyes on him once more.

"My relationship with Gibbs and what has or hasn't happened between is is none of your business, so why don't you do us both a favour leave me the hell alone!" Jenny hissed; her expression now downright dangerous.

Tony winced and started to ramble, eager to escape the uncomfortable. "Look, I'm sorry, I was just a little concerned, I guess. Gibbs will come around, 'cause I mean, if there's anyone he's gonna come around to anything, it'd have to be you."

Her eyes were just plain sad now, but her lips quirked up into the barest hint of a smile. "Thanks, DiNozzo," she said softly, holding his gaze meaningfully for a moment in an attempt to try and add weight to her gratitude.

Tony watched her as she turned her attention back out the window. As far as he was concerned whatever the boss had done, he should probably try and _un_-do it.

He felt bad for the crazy lady; you had to be crazy to have a thing for Gibbs, and it wasn't just one-sided. He'd seen the way Gibbs looked at her.

Hell, Tony wasn't even sure he liked Jenny, but when you put her and Gibbs together, they worked, they were _good _in ways he didn't fully understand_, _and hadn't the man himself mere weeks ago taught him that you shouldn't waste good? With a baby on the way, it's not like this shit was exactly optional.

He looked again at the back of her very-red head and a decision was made: he was going to find a way to remind Gibbs about rule five, and he was probably going to get head-slapped into next week for his efforts.

Conversation done with it was quiet, too quiet for his liking. Tony squinted at Jenny, smiling as a new, and admittedly slightly sideways, topic popped into his head.

"Hey, what colour are your eyes?"

Jenny shot him a look that was a frown and raised eyebrows all at once. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing, but they were kinda green before, and now they've got the whole grey thing going on."

Jenny smirked at him, as amused as she was bemused at his typically DiNozzo way of defusing a situation. "Depends on the lighting."

"Oh, that's kinda cool."

A beat of uncomfortable silence passed, and Jenny rummaged in her hand luggage, clearly searching for something.

Tony grinned at her and rubbed his hands together. "What are we going to talk about now?"

"Nothing," Jenny said, pursing her lips. "I brought a book."

* * *

The moment they set foot on the President's plane it became clear that whatever ruse Gibbs had been planning to wrangle jurisdiction with wasn't going to work, as just inside the jet's entrance they found the County Coroner duking it out with none other than Fornell over just whose jurisdiction this mess fell under.

_"This _is who you've been waiting for?" Fornell exclaimed, incredulous. "Who called NCIS?"

"Well y'know, Tobias, that _is _the body of a naval officer over there." Gibbs shot back wryly.

"Funny, Jethro. That fact is negated by this being Air Force One, as you well know."

The small, brunette, presumably Secret Service agent who had been watching the whole exchange from the nearby seat rolled her eyes dramatically as she stood up. "It's not Air Force One, Agent Fornell. When the President left on the backup plane, it became Air Force One. This is now alpha foxtrot 29000."

"Don't get into this pissing contest, Agent Todd," Fornell said, pressing his mouth into an irritated line.

Fornell turned his attention back to Gibbs and his team and paused when he saw Jenny, narrowing his eyes.

"Agent Shepard, I thought you were off to the Middle East."

"Change of plans," she retorted icily.

"Really, because I heard that was one hell of a promotion."

Jenny tilted her head down in answer and clenched her jaw: A reminder of the opportunity she had just passed on was the last thing she needed. She grabbed a bag of gear from Tony and stormed off in the direction of the body on the floor behind them.

"Where are you going?" Fornell demanded.

"Crime scene photos." She hissed as she passed him, and he didn't dare challenge her.

"What was that all about?" Fornell asked Gibbs.

Gibbs shrugged and instead of answering and changed the subject. "How is Diane anyway?"

Fornell grimaced, not quite sure what he was in for. "We're having a baby."

Gibbs let out a bark of laughter which caught Fornell off guard.

"What? I expected you to be more upset.

Gibbs, still grinning, shook his head and jabbed his thumb in the direction of Jenny. "Nah, so's she."

Fornell frowned as he tried to figure out if Gibbs really meant what he'd just implied. "Well then, how come she's back on your team? Oh _Jethro,_ you didn't…"

Gibbs's mouth twitched into a grin of confirmation.

"You did! Wait 'til Diane hears about this one."

"Wait until Diane hears about what?" Jenny snapped, having appeared silently behind Fornell.

He had the decency to wince as he wondered whether she'd learned that off Gibbs or if she was just that good at sneaking all on her own. "Well we were just talking about your-"

But he was interrupted by Agent Todd. "I'm sorry, is anyone going to maybe _do their jobs? _One minute you're arguing about who's got jurisdiction, then you're all having one great big interagency gossip session. We need to find out what happened here, the president's life is at stake.

"Oh, I'm sorry, who are you?" Tony said sarcastically, not liking how they were being spoken to.

"Agent Kate Todd, Secret Service." She snapped, flashing her ID in his face.

"Oh look, she's like you." Tony said grinning smugly at Jenny.

"Funny," she snarked back, raising both eyebrows as she did.

"The FBI has jurisdiction over everything on this plane." Fornell interjected, ignoring their exchange.

Gibbs paid no attention to him either, instead turning to the Secret Service Agent. "So, what actually happened here?"

"When the Commander returned from lunch, he had an equilibrium problem, and his grip was too weak to hold his briefcase."

Ducky looked at her with interest. "Did it happen gradually or was the onset sudden?"

"Sudden. He started to convulse and then he collapsed; the president's physician thought it looked like a stroke."

"Seems kind of young for a stroke," Jenny said, catching Gibbs's eye more out of habit than anything else, a move that halted both of them for a split second before they remembered the task at hand.

A hint of a smile graced Jenny's lips as she saw the trace of an idea flash cross Gibbs's face.

_Here we go._

"Hey Fornell," he said, "You can have the body if you sign the release forms."

"Well why didn't you say that before."

Ducky caught Gibbs's eye and then turned to the Coroner. "You said the forms were in your car, didn't you Elmo?"

"Er, yes, that's right."

"Well let's go then." Fornell scrutinised the carefully composed faces of the NCIS team in front of him, sensing trickery in the air. "You're not about to take off on me, are you Gibbs?"

"Would I do that?"

"I don't know, would you?"

"Guess you're going to have to find out."

Fornell cast one last suspiciously resigned look at Gibbs before following the coroner off the plane.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs called out to his junior agent.

"Yeah Boss?"

"Go show the pilot your credentials and get us the hell out of here."

Tony headed for the front of the plane before he noticed Jenny smirking at him and pointed to the staircase beside her. "Cockpit's up there."

"I knew _that."_

"They won't take off without my permission!" Kate called after him, wishing for the umpteenth time that NCIS would just disappear.

"Well go give it to them," Gibbs drawled, looking at her like she should know better.

"Why should I, what's in it for me?" she challenged, equal parts exasperated and curious about what this brazen asshole could possibly be bringing to the table.

"Joint investigation, I lead."

"Why are you in charge?"

"I do believe that's a dead naval officer." Gibbs deadpanned, refusing to give any ground.

"Who died on Air Force One after having lunch with the President."

"DiNozzo, escort Agent Todd off the plane," Gibbs said, looking past Kate at the younger agent.

"How's that going to work, you can't take off without me!"

"Hey Jen," Gibbs said, turning to the redhead standing nearby taking photos of the scene.

"Mm?"

"How are you at hijacking planes?"

"Well I haven't done it recently but I'm sure I could think of something," she said, smiling indulgently.

Gibbs smirked at her before turning to locate his other team member. "Tony!"

Kate gritted her teeth. She was getting nowhere here, and as loathe as she was to admit it, part of her wanted to see what this guy would do next. "Wait, fine! Your team, but only because I don't want to delay us more by having to _shoot_ you," she hissed.

"Hey,Tony, go shut that door will you?" Gibbs said with a self-satisfied smirk.

Kate gave him a look that could kill before heading for the stairs to give the Pilot the all clear for take-off.

Gibbs looked up and located Jenny standing a short distance away. "Better sit down, Jen," he said, stating the obvious they both knew.

"And why's that?"

"Plane's about to take off."

"Chauvinist," she retorted, narrowing her eyes at him, though her voice held no venom.

Gibbs smirked before sitting down in the seat next to her. "We need to talk," he told her seriously.

"What, now?" Jenny said, shooting him a look of disbelief.

Gibbs shook his head. "Later."

"You actually gonna talk this time?" Jenny asked, meeting his eyes in a challenge.

Gibbs fought the urge to deflect and avoid committing to a certainty; she wasn't messing around, and there weren't many chances left. "Yeah."

She searched his eyes guardedly but was unable to glean much.

Kate's eyes were drawn to their pair as she came back down the stairs; they were cleared for take-off. She wondered if any of what Gibbs and the FBI agent were talking about was true and how that even happened, though she supposed it wasn't any different from the fact that she was sleeping with Major Tim Kerry, and fraternising with a colleague was a Secret Service no-no - something she would almost certainly be fired for if she was discovered.

She watched with interest as Gibbs and his female agent stared intently at one another; whatever had happened there, there was something going on between those two.

She sat down next to Agent DiNozzo who was in the middle of buckling himself in, but his attention was also on the other pair, and he was grinning at them.

Gibbs shot him a questioning look "What, DiNozzo?"

"Well y'know boss, lately I've been thinking a lot about rule five."

"And why's that, DiNozzo?"

"Well just, y'know-" Tony gave up on words and instead looked pointedly between Jenny and Gibbs and then back again, grinning, and unafraid.

Gibbs smirked in spite of himself. "You finished?"

"Yup, that's about all I've got to say."

"Good," said Gibbs.

Jenny's head was bowed but the tops of her cheeks raised upwards in a smile.

Kate frowned in confusion, wondering whether this was some strange NCIS rulebook thing and wondered what it had to do with the relationship between Shepard and Gibbs. She turned to Tony. "What's rule five?"

"Well, Katie-"

Kate narrowed her eyes. "That's Agent Todd to you, Special Agent DiNozzo."

"-rule five is 'you don't waste good'."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Writing is currently like trying to get blood out of a stone, but we made it x.

* * *

Kate watched in horror as Ducky pierced the body's abdomen with the liver probe and slid it into place.

"You're not starting the autopsy here, are you?" she said, her face awash with disgust at the idea, causing Tony and Jenny to share an amused smirk from across the crime scene.

"Heavens no," said Ducky, looking up at her in surprise. "Just taking his liver temperature in order to determine time of death."

"The president's physician declared him at 2032 Zulu." Kate said, checking her PDA with the air of someone used to being right.

"Ah, but it never hurts to double check," Ducky said with a wry smile.

"Excuse me," said Tony importantly as he moved past Kate with a laser and a sketchpad in hand, "You'll need to stand clear so I can take measurements for my crime scene sketches."

"Why? She took photos."

"She has a name." Jenny said coolly, feeling somewhat irrationally annoyed by the other woman. On one hand she empathised with her; she was a woman in a man's world and trying her damndest to do her job and duty, and on the other her own patience was a finite resource, and she wished to hell that she'd just get out of the way and let them get on with it.

"Sorry," Kate said quickly, clearly taken aback.

Tony grabbed a magazine from the nearby seat and dangled it in front of Kate. "Can you tell me her measurements?" he asked, grinning.

"What? You're disgusting."

"He is," Jenny concurred evenly, looking up from her notepad, "but he also has a point."

Tony grinned and went back to bothering Kate. "Can you tell me if she's five foot four and a 34C or 5 foot 7 and a 36D?"

Kate sputtered, unsure whether to be outraged or not, and Tony continued, "The point is you can't, not from a photo. Which is why we do sketches and take measurements."

Kate walked back over to the seating area and pointedly away from Tony, and Jenny came to look over his shoulder. "36D?" she asked wryly, smirking at him. "That's optimistic."

Tony pulled a face at her in response.

Ducky pulled the probe from the corpse and read the gauge. "I got 1915 Zulu."

"Well then you miscalculated." Kate hit back promptly.

"Miscalculated what?" Gibbs asked, appearing behind them.

"Ah, Jethro, There's a discrepancy between my time of death and that of the president's physician."

Gibbs mulled this over, but his face gave away nothing.

"Enough sketches, Tony, Agent Todd's going to give you a floor plan."

"No, I'm not." She replied, her mouth in a taut line.

Tony watched as Gibbs started up the hall and 'Agent Todd' stalked off behind him. Jenny raised an eyebrow.

Tony glanced at her and grinned. "You don't like her, do you."

"I don't know her." Jenny said neutrally, still going about her business.

"Yet there are all these teensy little signals coming from you that say you're not a fan."

Jenny sighed and reluctantly gave him her full attention, pinning him with her gaze. "Okay, DiNozzo, do I like her more or less than you?"

"Well I don't-wait, how much do you like me?"

"How much does she like who?" Gibbs asked, returning sooner than expected.

"Just asking what she thought of the dead body, boss."

Gibbs shot Tony a penetrating glare but said nothing.

"Jethro," Ducky said, rising from his position by the body, "I believe I know why the discrepancy with commander Trapp's time of death. Now since the Commander had lunch with the president, I'm sure his physician rushed to evaluate his condition; he also called the Commander's time of death."

"That's right," Kate said, also arriving, "Once he was sure the president wasn't in any medical danger, he returned. He was gone for almost an hour.

"I'm sure a fully autopsy will show that Commander Trapp expired almost immediately." Ducky Said.

"I owe you an apology, doctor."

"It's really not a problem. I'm just relieved we straightened it out; it's inconsistencies like these that start conspiracy theories."

Gibbs turned to Kate and grinned. "Rule number three: Don't believe what you're told, double check."

"Should I be writing these down or crocheting them on a pillow?" Kate snarked, unimpressed.

"Nope. Just something to keep in mind." Gibbs said, smirking. He paused and turned to his team.

"Jenny, DiNozzo," He said. gesturing to them, "Start bagging and tagging," he said pointing in the direction of the private rooms where the President and the commander had shared lunch.

"On it Boss." Tony said, and headed on through. Jenny caught Gibbs's eye for a meaningful moment before she did the same.

Kate looked between Gibbs and Jenny's retreating form. "NCIS doesn't have rules against that?"

Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her but said nothing, and Kate gave up.

"Never mind. I've got to go and talk to my boss."

Gibbs smirked and shook his head as she walked away. She was uptight but he had to admit, she had balls.

* * *

"Awesome, the President's desk!" Tony said, his eyes lighting up as they entered the room.

Jenny laughed. "What are you, twelve?"

Tony was unperturbed. "Come on, you gotta admit, seeing it in real life is pretty cool. Take my picture, pretty please?"

Jenny rolled her eyes at him, but taking his picture was more appealing than scraping congealed Texas barbecue into evidence bags so she acquiesced. The cloyingly sweet smell alone was making her stomach want to crawl out of the nearest exit. "Fine."

Tony passed her the camera before sitting down in the president's chair. He started with a mock serious pose with his elbows resting on the desk and Jenny snapped a photo. She smirked Burley and Decker could only dream of being this ridiculous. Neither of her old teammates had had the guts to be that ridiculous with Gibbs lurking just around the corner, and speaking of Burley, she could only hope that wherever he was stationed right now that it was far, far away, because once he found out she was pregnant, especially by Gibbs, he would never let her live it down.

"You want me to take one of you?" Tony offered.

"No, I'll pass."

Tony tried out a few more poses with Jenny snapping each one.

Gibbs walked in just as Tony kicked his feet onto the desk and rolled his eyes, but Jenny didn't miss the ghost of a smirk on his face.

Nor did she miss the pure, unadulterated outrage Agent Todd was wearing on hers.

"Oh no," Kate started, "I draw the line at him sitting in the President's chair."

"He's not using it." Tony retorted, daring her to do something.

Kate shot him a filthy look.

Gibbs ignored them. "Enough with the photos. What happened to bagging and tagging?"

"We were just waiting for you, boss," Tony lied in a way that managed to be both smooth and unconvincing.

Gibbs glared at him.

"Bagging and tagging what?" Kate asked.

"We'll start with everything." Gibbs said. "President was sitting there?"

"Pretty good bet," Kate snapped, wholly unimpressed. "Seeing as it is his desk."

Jenny snapped on a pair of gloves and began sliding each plate into bags, her stomach lurching as she went. Barbecue was, it seemed, now firmly on the 'no' list.

Her reticence did not escape Gibbs's notice. "You okay, Jen?"

"Uh, boss." Tony pointed to a very pale Kate. she retched once, clamped her hand over her mouth and ran from the room. Gibbs grabbed an evidence bag and chased after her.

At that, Jenny promptly lost all remaining control over her revulsion and threw up all over the desk.

Tony yelped and leapt backwards and out of the way. "Ugh, Jesus! Wait until the Secret Service chick finds out you ralphed on the President's desk."

"Shut up, DiNozzo," Jenny coughed before excusing herself to the adjoining bathroom, not bothering to close the door.

Gibbs returned with a bag of vomit in his hand.

"You think she's got whatever killed the Commander?" Tony asked, referring to the bag.

"Don't know. What the hell happened?" Gibbs asked, noticing the stomach contents now also splattered across the desk.

"I have no idea. One minute, Agent Todd looked like she was gonna barf, the next Jenny is losing it all over the desk."

Gibbs tensed visibly as an uncomfortable knot settled in the pit of his stomach. He'd been so busy worrying about the physical dangers of a crime scene that he hadn't stopped to consider that this one might expose her to other kinds of dangers. Maybe they should all suit up, but it hadn't seemed like that sort of crime scene, and it still didn't, but it didn't make him feel any better. "Where is she now?"

"In here." Jenny called balefully from bathroom.

Gibbs and Tony traded worried glances, both thinking the same thing.

Gibbs handed the offending bag to a grimacing Tony. "Put that with the evidence, and collect the rest of it."

"On it, boss." Tony said, though he'd very much rather not be. Good old NCIS: no private jet, and all the barf you could carry.

Gibbs strode into the bathroom and discovered Jenny at the sink dabbing her mouth with a paper towel. "What happened?" He asked, his face etched with concern.

"Morning sickness", she said, throwing the towel into the trash can. "The smell of the president's lunch was already getting to me, then Agent Todd throwing up was apparently a bit too much." Jenny studied the lines of his face. "You're worried."

"Yeah, well. There's a dead guy out there who died of unknown causes, then Agent Todd takes ill, and now you get sick all of a sudden where the dead guy had lunch."

"I'm fine, Jethro. I have no other symptoms."

"I want Ducky to check you out, make sure you're okay." His eyes raked hers as he tried to gauge her level of resistance. "Please?" He asked, resting his hand gently on the back of her neck.

Jenny nodded and tried to control her breathing. His touch was distracting, and she craved it desperately, but now was not the time or place.

Gibbs moved his hand to the small of her back and guided her out of the bathroom and past DiNozzo. "Once you're done there, DiNozzo, onto plan B."

Tony visibly gulped."Sure."

"What's plan B?" Jenny asked as they entered the corridor.

"He goes for a ride in a body bag while we sneak the Commander out the back."

"Of course he does."

"Jennifer, Jethro, what can I do for you?" Ducky asked upon noticing their arrival. He looked between the two taking in Gibbs's apparent agitation and Jenny's quiet tolerance for it. They were reminding him very much of how they'd been in France, so he could only hope that meant that things had improved between them.

"I just threw up, and Gibbs needs you to tell him I'm fine so I can get back to work." Jenny stated with only a hint of irony.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and came as close as he ever did to huffing. "I need you to make sure she doesn't have whatever Agent Todd has, and if she does that it's got nothing to do with what happened to the Commander."

"Well, the good news is Agent Todd appears to have nothing more than a stomach virus, though of course I won't know for sure until we return."

"No, it is, I know it is." Kate said firmly.

"What makes you so sure?" Ducky asked, observing her curiously.

"It's the same symptoms Major Kerry had, which is why Commander Trapp was carrying the football to begin with."

"Ah," said Ducky, "You and he worked together recently?"

"No."

"Then how did you?...Oh, I see." Ducky said as he put two and two together.

Gibbs peered at Kate intently and she met his gaze head on. "You going to lecture me about sleeping with people I work with?"

"Nope."

Jenny smirked.

"No," Ducky said, smiling broadly. "Jethro here has what one might call 'firsthand experience' in that department."

Gibbs glared at him, while Jenny rolled her eyes.

Ducky grinned widely once more before sobering as he remembered the task at hand. "Now, Jennifer, any other symptoms?"

"Other than more weird food aversions and being triggered by other people throwing up? No."

"Yes, well, it's not uncommon for pregnant women to vomit at the sight of others doing so. In fact, the theory goes that it's a protective measure, as the spontaneous expulsion of the stomach contents of the mother to be would ensure that any particles inhaled from the sickness of the other person would be flushed from her system. Just let me take your temperature."

Kate squinted at the thermometer as an unpleasant thought struck her. "You don't use that on dead bodies, do you?"

"Rarely. I prefer the liver probe. It's clean, I disinfected it a moment ago after using it on you my dear."

Jenny paled as Ducky placed the thermometer under her tongue. She'd come a long way since her first time in autopsy, but the thought of where this thing had been was something she couldn't afford to dwell on.

Ducky removed the thermometer from Jenny's mouth and checked the temperature. "Everything does appear to be normal. I'd say that it was indeed just another case of pregnancy induced emesis."

Gibbs relaxed visibly. "I just gotta go and tell DiNozzo to go to plan B," he said, kissing Jenny on the forehead.

Her cheeks flushed at the unexpected contact and Kate made eye contact and shot her a knowing grin. There was something satisfying about watching them interact, especially when Gibbs was like he was, and Kate was fascinated.

"Jethro, what exactly is 'plan B'?" Ducky asked.

"DiNozzo gets to go for a ride in a body bag." Gibbs said, smirking as he walked away.

Jenny laughed, and Kate's mouth hung open as she processed what she'd just heard. "He's enjoying this," she stated, her words tinged with incredulity.

"Oh yes," Ducky said with a smile, "Very much."


	8. Chapter 8

Hold the phone, stop the presses and check outside to see if pigs are flying, because we have made it to ch8! I'm still chugging along. a big thanks to all my readers x.

* * *

Gibbs's plan went off without a hitch, with Fornell and his sidekick seemingly none the wiser as they drove off with DiNozzo in the back of their FBI truck. Tobias would kick his ass later, and Gibbs didn't care.

He laughed at the thought. Truthfully, he had just wanted to see if he could get DiNozzo to actually do it, and the fact that he had quietly amused Gibbs to no end. The fact that he got away with the body because of it was just icing on the cake.

He paused at the top of the gangway and watched as Jenny disembarked from the plane with bags of gear slung over her shoulders and stifled a yawn into her elbow for what seemed like the fifth time in as many minutes.

It was after midnight, and she looked like hell, though he wasn't about to tell her that. He felt a stab of guilt for not looking after her properly. She was clearly exhausted, and the fact that she had come so close to a potential contaminant on the plane scared him. He couldn't let it happen again; he _wouldn't _let it happen again, but he'd deal with that later.

Gibbs noticed Kate watching him with a glint in her eye.

"It's kind of cute, you know," she said, having got his attention.

"What is?" Gibbs asked indignantly.

"You obviously care about her, a lot. You know, a hard-ass like you." She said and laughed.

Gibbs glared at her. She was _teasing _him, and he felt irrationally annoyed at being called cute anything, especially by her, so he changed the subject.

"Get some of your guys to the loading bay, Ducky needs help with the body."

"Why, you got somewhere else to be?" Kate needled, grinning, though she could predict who and what was on his mind.

Gibbs gave her a hard stare and started down the steps to the tarmac.

"That's sweet!" Kate shot at his retreating back.

Gibbs jogged to catch up with Jenny who was now about halfway to the terminal and she shot him a questioning look as he fell into step beside her.

"I'm taking you home." He said simply.

"Since when?"

"Since now. You're exhausted, Jen."

Jenny looked like she wanted to argue but was prevented by another yawn, and Gibbs took this as an opportunity to relieve her of the gear she was carrying.

"Chauvinist," she groused.

Gibbs shrugged, not unfamiliar with the barb. "Well y'know, women and children first." He said, smirking.

But instead of the scoff or eye-roll he had expected, the response from Jenny was silence. Her behaviour, which had warmed somewhat on the plane, had cooled once more.

He gazed evenly at the side of her head. "What's wrong, Jen?"

"We need to talk," she deadpanned, forcing him to acknowledge what was weighing heavily on her mind, and all that hinged upon it.

"Jenny," he said, causing her to look at him. "It'll be okay," he said, in an attempt to put her at ease.

"I hope so," she responded simply, lightly. But in truth, it sounded a lot like a warning.

* * *

Jenny was so quiet in the car that for a while Gibbs wondered if she had fallen asleep, but there was nothing relaxed about her posture.

He slowed the car as they neared the familiar row of townhouses and spared her a glance before pulling into a space across from her house, and when he killed the engine it only served to amplify the silence between them.

After a beat Jenny turned her gaze on him in what he recognised as a challenge, with her chin angled down and her eyes hard.

Gibbs looked at his hands a moment as he worked on summoning the right words. "I'm sorry, Jen. I screwed up," he said, looking at her hesitantly. "I never meant to make you feel like your feelings weren't important, or that you didn't matter."

Her eyes had gone from hard to wide, and she took in a sharp breath.

He took this as his cue to continue. "When you told me that in Paris I panicked. You weren't the only one, but I couldn't say it – felt like I was betraying them."

A wave of nausea struck Jenny as she was hit, not with anger, but fear, because here was the moment of truth, and he was preparing to let her down.

"I'm sorry about your dad, too."

At this she took a shuddering breath and forced herself not to look away. She had one final question, and the answer was everything. "What about now, are you still betraying them?" she asked, her voice thick with emotion.

Gibbs shrugged. "Maybe, but it doesn't matter. If I do nothing, then I'm betraying you."

At his admission, the tears that may have threatened before flowed freely down Jenny's face, as the enormity of what they'd become to one another was acknowledge out loud.

Gibbs reached up to caress her face with a work worn hand and brushed the wetness on her cheek with his thumb.

Jenny laughed a watery laugh. "I thought you were about to tell me to take a hike.

"Nah. You're too important for that. Both of you," He added meaningfully and reached for her hand.

The air stilled as they became physically aware of one another.

"Jethro?" Jenny said, breaking the tension before it killed her.

"Mm?"

"Kiss me."

Gibbs wasted no time and swiftly moved in to capture her lips with his own, and Jenny's hand found its way to the back of his neck, playing with the hair it found there. Their reunion was intense but was soon slowed down by the weight of the day's fatigue.

The temptation to kiss her again was great, but she was exhausted, and Jenny looked at him as though she could read his mind and her bleary eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Come on, time for bed," Gibbs said, which caused Jenny to raise her eyebrows at him.

"What?" Gibbs challenged playfully with mock indignance. "You need sleep."

"So do you." Jenny countered and pursed her lips into a smile.

"Nah, I got coffee."

"Yeah, 'cause that's always the best option," she deadpanned. "Besides, there's food."

"You don't cook."

"No, I offered to pay Noemi extra if she made meals as well."

Gibbs snorted. "You have a _housekeeper_."

"Well you see I have this mean boss who makes me work all the time…"

Gibbs rolled his eyes at her. Ideally, he'd wait until the case was over to fully throw himself back in with her, but sleep was good, and family was important _and that's what she was now._ Somewhere absently in his mind it registered that he should probably tell his dad what was going on, but that was for another time. The case could wait a few hours. He popped the trunk and grabbed his overnight bag before following Jenny, who hadn't waited for his answer.

He grinned.

Jenny tossed her keys on the sideboard as she entered the house, and Gibbs closed the door behind them. The house was silent except for the old clock in the corner ticking away loudly.

She placed her bag on the floor in the corner. "Bedroom's on the second landing and then to your left," she called to him as he headed for the stairs.

"I know."

"How? You've never been in it."

"No, but I've called you when you have." He replied with a smirk. There'd been a few times before Europe when he'd needed her to come to work, fast, and he'd quickly learned by calling her while he was sitting outside that her bedroom was at the top of the front of the house, and watching her come to the window to see whether he was indeed where he said he was had amused him to no end.

Jenny smiled to herself and shook her head as she watched him ascend, his curiosity obvious as he disappeared from view.

Gibbs slowed as he reached the third floor. He'd counted what looked like two bedrooms on the last landing, and there were another two up here. He made his way towards the front of the house to the one he knew was Jenny's and found himself in a decent sized room with its own bathroom, and the bay window that he'd seen her standing in many times before. It was full of the same kind of old furniture as the rest of the house, but with a decidedly more feminine touch. He dropped his bad unceremoniously onto the expensive looking covers on her bed where it landed with a satisfying bounce and disturbed a few of the many pillows.

Gibbs smirked. _Good mattress._

The room smelled a lot like her, which made sense given how much time she spent in it. He surveyed the room once more, noting the dressing table in the corner and what looked like work clothes piled over the back of a chair.

"Having fun?" Jenny asked wryly, appearing in the doorway.

"Yup," Gibbs replied wearing a grin that wouldn't look out of place on DiNozzo's face.

She moved past him and started pulling clothes out of the nearby bureau.

It all felt ridiculously domestic in a way that similar actions as they'd travelled together had not.

She gathered her things and took them into the bathroom to get changed. She did not, Gibbs noted, close the door.

Jenny winced as she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror; the dark circles she found there were visible even through what was left of her makeup, and there was no hiding the puffiness that had also taken up residence there.

She then wiped her face clean and paused to assess the full extent of the damage. She looked like hell. Every ounce of exhaustion she felt was written plainly on her face. This case had been the biggest they had worked since her return, and it was becoming abundantly clear that she could no longer just push through like she always had.

She put on her pyjamas, noting with some irritation that the elastic waistband was starting to feel tight across her abdomen, which meant that she was going to have to buy a new set soon unless she planned on sleeping naked, and then brushed her teeth.

When she emerged from the bathroom, she found Gibbs already in her bed reclining onto a pile of her many pillows with his arms folded behind his head. Jenny smiled at the sight and folded back the covers so that she could slide in beside him.

"Move over," she said nudging him playfully, but no sooner had she pulled the covers back over herself he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Jenny laid her head on his shoulder and muffled a yawn into it, and Gibbs kissed her on the forehead.

"Sleep," he murmured into her hair, watching in amusement as she frowned with her eyes still closed from the yawn. "It's less appealing if you tell me what to do." She stated thickly, never opening them, and it wasn't long before she obliged.

Gibbs studied her face as she slept and was caught off guard by a wave of affection towards her. Really, he shouldn't be, his feelings weren't in question, but he was so used to allowing himself to feel it in the first place.

He took a moment to savour the warm weight of her in his arms and then froze as it hit him like a tonne of bricks that he could distinctly feel the firm roundness of her belly pressing into him. It was small, but it was definitely there.

He wanted to reach out and touch it but resisted in case he woke her.

He tried to remember if this had happened with Shannon was pregnant but was his with a fresh wave of guilt when he realised, he couldn't remember. In his mind he saw vividly standing and trying to smile as tears rolled down her face. He was being deployed, and she was saying goodbye. She'd been eleven weeks pregnant, and he hadn't seen her again until a few months after Kelly was born.

A familiar guilt gnawed at him, but it was with a strange sort of relief that he realised that his feelings for Jenny and the baby were sitting alongside his love for Shannon and Kelly just fine, and it was with that thought that he surrendered to sleep.

When Gibbs awoke a few hours later Jenny was still curled into his side, breathing softly against his neck, and the unfamiliar shadows of her room were playing on the ceiling. He lifted his head to get a better look at the glowing numbers of the clock on the bedside table before beginning to slowly disentangle himself from her sleeping form.

His feet reached the carpet the same time as her voice reached his ears. "What time is it?" She asked, her voice made all the huskier by sleep.

"0600; go back to sleep."

"I live close, but not that close," she scoffed softly. Work started in an hour, and if she was going to be ready, she had to get up.

"Meeting with the FBI isn't 'til 0900, don't need you 'til then." He said and leaned over to kiss her on the lips. He was sorely tempted to tell her to take the day but letting her come in late would already raise a few eyebrows. "Also need to talk about your workload," he added, smoothing her hair, which elicited little more than a bleary nod. She sank back down into the pillows and closed her eyes, which only affirmed his decision.

"I'll have DiNozzo come get you at 8.30." Gibbs said, and was satisfied to see her wrinkle her nose and regard him through slitted eyes.

She could drive herself and they both knew it.

"See you in a couple of hours." He said softly and kissed her one last time and began to get ready for work.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I love every single one of you.**

* * *

Tony was squinting blearily at his computer screen when Gibbs walked in carrying a customary cup of coffee. He looked around to see if Jenny would also materialise, but she wasn't there.

His eyes flicked to the time in the bottom right corner and back to Gibbs. "She okay?" He asked, not bothering to specify which 'she' he was referring to.

"Yeah, Shepard will be in later." Gibbs said as he went and put his coffee on his desk.

Tony nodded absently and went back to staring at his screen and marveled somewhat vaguely at the fact that he wasn't even the least bit mad at Gibbs's blatantly preferential treatment. He'd never been given a sleep-in and never expected to, but it didn't matter. He respected Gibbs, and he felt oddly protective of Jenny, which was strange in and of itself when he thought about it.

Gibbs was still staring at him expectantly, waiting to see whether Tony was going to update him on the case, but the silence stuck. "You find anything, Di-No-zzo?" Gibbs asked, drawing out the syllables of his name.

"Not a whole lot. We got more organics than Whole Foods, and enough vitamins to start some kind of hippy drug store - Abby's running tests on all of them now. I figure if he was poisoned it was probably in one of those bottles; the guy was a total health freak."

Gibbs was inscrutable as he processed this, and his expression didn't change as he moved onto checking out Tony's dishevelled appearance. "Did you get any sleep?"

Tony looked up and frowned at the unexpected question. "Uhh, yeah, a little. Abby has some sort of futon down in her lab; it's surprisingly good."

Gibbs allowed himself a little smile. "Go take a shower and grab something to eat: Meet me back here at 0830."

"Sure, boss." Tony said before attempting to surreptitiously sniff his shirt for anything that might have caused Gibbs to tell him to go wash but detected nothing.

Gibbs smirked at his confusion and watched him gather his things and leave. DiNozzo had pulled more than his weight in the last twenty-four hours and he owed him at least the time to eat breakfast.

He sat himself down at his desk and pondered their case. None of it made sense, but they had nothing, and the implications if they got it wrong were huge. They had to be missing something, and it was going to bother him until he figured out what it was.

Jenny ignored the furtive glances and hushed whispers she was attracting as she entered the building. Word of her 'condition' was getting around, and the fact that she was beginning to look the part wasn't helping matters.

She stabbed the elevator call button with her finger and crossed her arms as she waited, paying little attention as Fornell appeared beside her and pressed the button again himself.

"Agent Shepard," he greeted, nodding in her direction.

"Agent Fornell," she replied and kept her face carefully neutral as she waited for the other shoe to drop, because it was Fornell and it always did.

"Do all of Gibbs's agents start this late, or just ones he's screwing?"

"How is Diane?" she retorted smartly.

Fornell grimaced; his relationship with Jenny had always been uneasy. He'd worked with Gibbs's team a few times in the past but had so far not settled into any easy kind of rapport. Of course, it hadn't helped that when they'd met, he'd asked loudly if Gibbs was shopping for his next ex-wife. Gibbs was fine, he could deal with Gibbs; they showed no respect and held no grudges, but Shepard was something else.

Jenny smiled at him in a way that made him uneasy. "Did you know, she once hit Gibbs over the head with a golf club? There was blood everywhere."

She watched with great satisfaction as Fornell swallowed hard, and any further retort he might have had was cut short by the arrival of Kate.

"Good morning," she said, looking between Jenny and Fornell and whatever she'd just interrupted.

"Agent Todd," Fornell said, nodding with air of mock sageness, while Jenny merely smiled politely.

An awkward silence settled over them that was broken when the elevator finally arrived.

"So, Diane's your wife?" Kate asked and turned to smile toothily at Fornell. These people apparently had no concept of separating business and pleasure and she was intrigued.

"Yes, she is," he replied with no small amount of chagrin.

Jenny's face lit up with incredulity. "Ha, since when? I presume someone had a shotgun."

"Since we're having a baby; maybe you and Gibbs should try it."

"Well good luck," said Jenny, "you're going to need it."

A stunned Kate looked from Fornell to Jenny "You know his wife then?"

"She's Gibbs's ex-wife," Jenny said, smiling sweetly at Fornell.

"Oh, right," Kate said, as if it made perfect sense, "so that explains the golf club. Kate smiled at her and kept her tone deliberately light. "How long have you worked with Gibbs?"

Jenny narrowed her eyes, wary at this new line of interrogation. "Four years."

Fornell laughed humourlessly. "Agent Shepard here was his junior agent; his trainee."

"I'm his partner." Jenny said firmly.

"And NCIS are okay with this?" Kate asked, getting to the point that had baffled her the most since the beginning. She'd dated colleagues before, hell, she was doing so right now on the down-low, but it was most definitely against the rules.

"Well, they weren't exactly thrilled, but it's not against policy and in case you're wondering, no, it wasn't planned." Jenny added dryly.

"I, uh, wasn't going to ask." Kate said, feeling suitably chastised.

Fornell chuckled softly behind them, and the uncomfortable silence settled back over them until the elevator chimed and the doors opened once more.

"After you, ladies," he said and stretched his arm out towards the exit.

* * *

Gibbs looked up as the trio entered the squad room. His eyes settled on Jenny, who gave a barely perceptible nod.

"Morning, Jethro." Fornell said, greeting his counterpart. Not sure how you pulled off that whole body-snatch routine, but my boss was so pissed he was almost impressed."

"Well that's easy, Tobias." Gibbs retorted, grinning widely. "Got balls."

Fornell laughed, while Kate gave a long-suffering sigh and rolled her eyes. "Was it worth it?" She asked, looking pointedly at Gibbs.

He smirked and shrugged. "Gotta ask Abby."

"And she is?"

"Forensics."

"Right." Kate said, her brow furrowing in confusion as she laid eyes on the woman in question, who was tottering towards them wearing dark makeup and ludicrous black platform boots, and Ducky was close behind her.

Abby was clearly amused. "What? She said, looking Kate dead in the eye, "Never seen a goth in a lab coat before?"

"No, I haven't." She said, but by this point Kate was barely able to believe that any of these people worked for the government.

"What have you got, Abby?" Gibbs asked

"Well…" Abby began with a dramatic flourish before launching into a full report on her findings.

Jenny half listened to their findings and glanced at Tony who was slumped in his chair; her gaze then settled on the cup of coffee over on Gibbs's desk, at which point she was momentarily distracted by the fact that she found the idea of drinking it quite appealing.

Fornell was frowning as he listened to what Abby was telling them. "So, what you're saying is that there's no evidence of foul play?"

"Well no, other than it being odd that he stroked out, not at all."

Ducky shook his head beside her. "I'm afraid that my examination also turned up very little."

Kate's attention was still on Abby. "Did you test all that food you bagged and tagged?"

"Yup, all negative. I mean, that stuff will kill you, but it'll take, like, thirty years. Do you guys in the Secret Service ever think about throwing yourselves in front of the president's diet?"

Tony snorted loudly and the others laughed.

Fornell pointed to Abby then to Gibbs. "I want my people to check your results."

"Sure, Tobias. You and Agent Todd will be receiving copies of all our results."

He nodded and turned to leave, but not before stopping in front of Tony's desk.

"Hey DiNozzo, how's your butt?"

Tony flashed him an unconvincing smile. "Still bouncing on the beltway."

Fornell beamed with satisfaction and he continued on his way.

Jenny was watching Gibbs from her place at her desk. Technically the case was over, but something felt off, and she could tell he felt it too.

"You think something's still up." she stated, her eyes scanning the set of his face.

Gibbs shrugged. "Doesn't feel right."

Kate glanced between the two of them. "You're more than welcome to come on our next flight if it'll help settle your stomach."

His eyes lingered on Jenny for another beat before he replied. "I'll pass."

Kate shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said before taking her leave.

"That's not like you, Jethro," Ducky remarked, though he was pretty sure he knew the reason

Gibbs's gaze settled on Jenny once more. "Got more important things here."

A broad smile spread across Ducky's face and he gave Abby's sleeve a gentle tug. "Come on Abigail, we have work to do."

As they wandered off Abby's voice could be heard on the other side of the dividers. "That's so _sweet!"_

Jenny froze and Tony coughed awkwardly. "So, uh, what do we do now?"

"Run everything we've got again, we're missing something, and tell Abby to do the same." Gibbs said, sitting down at his desk before abruptly getting up again. "I need a coffee." He growled to no one in particular.

His statement was met with silence and Jenny raised an eyebrow at him. He jerked his head towards the elevator, and she stood up to follow. Gibbs stopped at Tony's desk. "You want anything?"

"You know," he said, looking momentarily thoughtful. "I could really use a muffin."

* * *

Jenny could feel Gibbs's unease as they walked and watched his face as he mulled over their now all but closed case.

"Do you regret not going?" She asked, squinting a little as she looked up at him.

"Nope. Put duty before family last time, not doing it again." Gibbs said, squeezing the hand she had nestled within his. He wondered, not for the first time, what Shannon and Kelly would think of Jen and this situation. Shannon and Jenny were very different people, but they'd have probably gotten along if they'd met in different circumstances, and Kelly had always begged them for a sibling.

"Are you okay?" Jenny asked, looking at him in concern having noticed the faraway look on his face.

"Just thinking about Kelly; she always wanted a baby brother or sister."

This time it was Jenny's hand that squeezed his. "I'm sure she'd have been a great big sister."

"Yeah. She would have."

"You want anything?" Gibbs asked as they neared the coffee cart.

"Coffee, thanks."

"Thought it made you sick."

"Not today apparently. Do you have any idea how close I came to stealing yours off your desk this morning?"

Gibbs laughed quietly. "You want it strong or girly?"

"How about strong _and_ girly."

He smirked and went to order and returned with two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag.

"Here, guy says this was some kind of 'latte'. Put sugar in it as well."

"Perfect, thank you" Jenny said and took it from him, taking a long sip.

He fished a muffin out of the bag and handed it to her. "Gotta eat," he said by way of explanation.

Jenny pursed her lips at him in jest. "You know, I can feed myself."

Gibbs shrugged. "Well if you don't want it…" he said and attempted to snatch it from her, shoving it and her hand towards his mouth.

"Hey!" Jenny snatched it away from him, but not before he took a bite.

"Thought you didn't want it."

Jenny elbowed him playfully in the ribs before sobering. "So, what do you think happened to the Commander?"

"Murder."

"Well that's obvious, but how?"

"Gotta be poison."

"Abby's pretty much tested for everything; think she missed something?"

"Had to. Fit the pattern of any terrorist groups you know of?"

"Well a Navy Commander dying of what looks like nothing while carrying the football isn't a lot to go on. Did you find out if there was anything different about the backup plane?"

"Yeah, the locks. They're older, use keys. It means something, but I don't know what."

Jenny's expression was grave. "It's hard to know for sure, but those who know think Al-Qaeda is up to something, and if anyone had the balls to go after Air Force One it's them. Is it wrong to be glad you didn't go?"

Gibbs stroked her thumb softly and leaned in to kiss her on the lips, relishing the fact that he was allowed to be close to her once more. He'd made the right choice, but he felt oddly selfish. Duty to country had come first for so long that it went against his instincts not to put himself on the line.

No sooner had they begun heading back to base, two squad cars screeched to a halt across the street from where they'd been standing.

They shared a glance and Gibbs held out his hand proffering her the paper bag.

"You going to go and see?"

"Yeah. Give that to DiNozzo," He said. "I'll call if it's anything."

"Great," Jenny muttered as she watched him jog across the street. She was getting used to being left behind, but she'd be lying if she said she liked it. She rested a hand gingerly on her belly. She was still getting used to this whole pregnancy thing and knowing it was alive in there doing whatever it was a foetus that size did, but some days it may as well have been an alien life form. It was hard to imagine what their lives would be like as a family; it all seemed so nebulous and far away no matter how she looked at it, though in reality it was right here.

The one thing that wasn't nebulous was the fact that they couldn't go on like they were. She needed a more predictable job, and Gibbs needed a team that was firing on all cylinders, which meant that they were going to have to talk to Morrow.


	10. Chapter 10

"Here, this is for you." Jenny said as she thrust the paper bag she had been holding at Tony.

"Where's Gibbs?"

"Two squad cars pulled up down by the park. Gibbs went over to see if it was a crime scene," she said pursing her lips.

"Of course he did." Tony said, stating the obvious, before he proceeded to open the paper bag. "Oh hey, a muffin!"

Jenny narrowed her eyes at him as the chagrin she was feeling reached her face.

Tony's faltered at her withering stare. "You and Gibbs – you both do the – never mind," he said as he clearly decided against finishing what he had started to say, taking his hint from the eyebrow she had raised in his direction. The phone on Tony's desk started to ring. "Oh hey, boss. Sure, okay, I'll be right there," he said, placing the receiver back in its cradle. "There's a crime scene alright. There's a dead guy, and that dead guy is none other than Major Kerry."

"Shit," Jenny swore. She tried to ignore the sinking feeling that was taking hold once more. This was big, and it more than confirmed Gibbs's suspicions that this was not over; it wasn't even close. "Hope you hadn't planned on sleeping any time soon," she said as she once more took in Tony's obvious weariness.

"Hey, what are desks for!" He replied with a thousand-watt grin, but his smile failed to reach his eyes. "What are you going to do?"

Jenny shrugged. "Go over everything again, see if I can come up with anything."

"Well, good luck with that." Tony said, not unsympathetically before swinging his gear onto his back. "Seeya."

Jenny sat down at her desk and pinched the bridge of her nose. They didn't really _have _anything. The lab results hadn't magically changed, the autopsy report read the same as it had that morning, and the rest of the case was as inconclusive as ever, which became more painfully obvious with every minute she spent poring over it. She glanced at her watch. It had only been half an hour, but if she sat here much longer she was going to go insane. She wondered absently if Ducky might have something new. The odds were low, but he was a friendly face, and the morgue was, at the very least, not her desk, and that was a start.

* * *

Ducky looked up from cleaning the table as the doors to autopsy swooshed open.

He smiled warmly at her. "Jennifer, my dear, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, Gibbs and DiNozzo are out in the field. It wasn't safe for me to go with them."

"Ah yes, of course. It's amazing, isn't it, how early we humans start making sacrifices for our young. I'm imagining it's not your first, and it certainly won't be the last."

"It's so strange to think of myself as a parent. I've had goals my entire life and I've reached them. Get good grades, get into a good school, graduate with honours, get a good job, work hard, rise to the top, and this? This is _definitely_ not that."

"Yes well. Life has a habit of throwing the best laid plans out the window at the best of times. I hear you turned down quite the promotion back in Europe."

Jenny inclined her head in quiet assent, not quite trusting herself to speak.

Ducky watched her for a moment with a thoughtful expression. "Do you regret it at all, coming back?"

"Not really, not under the circumstances, I think I'd have regretted not coming back a lot more. I'd worked so hard and I'd succeeded. I just feel so blindsided by it all."

"It's perfectly understandable. Pregnancy is quite the adjustment for any woman, and that's without taking into account the who, why and where. I imagine for you that meeting Gibbs was quite the surprise in and of itself," Ducky said smiling knowingly.

Jenny laughed ruefully. "You can say that again."

The shrill ringing of Jenny's cell phone interrupted them. "Shepard. I'm fine, Jethro, I'm down in the morgue. Yeah, I'll tell him. Okay, I'll be right up." She grimaced at Ducky. "You remember Major Kerry from the plane?"

"Why yes, of course."

"He's dead from what looks like the same thing."

Ducky took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Well it's highly unlikely they both died of exactly the same natural causes, which I'm sure is exactly what Gibbs is thinking."

Jenny nodded curtly, feeling the pull of upstairs. "I'd better go."

"Of course. You take care, and if you need anything, you know where to find me."

Jenny flashed him a genuine smile. "Thank you."

"Now. Where were we." Ducky said before opening the drawer with the Commander inside. "I'm afraid it's not over yet, my dear fellow. You know, there was a time when the mere sight of an autopsy made Jennifer ill…"

* * *

Gibbs's gut was churning, while his mind chewed on the implications of Major Kerry's demise, but right at the top was the fact that Kate was now the top suspect, and he had just let her get on a plane with the president.

He could also feel Jenny's eyes on him but was choosing to ignore her. She knew what he was thinking, she always knew, and right now he was desperate to stop the terrorist attack that was about to happen.

"What have we got!" He yelled, causing Tony to wince, but Jenny remained patiently impassive.

"Other than the fact that they served together? Nothing at all. However, the bartender did mention that he'd seen Major Kerry with a man fitting the Commander's description last week. He also mentioned that Major Kerry had also been seen about five times with none other than Agent Caitlin Todd." She said calmly.

Gibbs swore under his breath while appreciating what her tone was telling him: getting worked up wouldn't help. He felt helpless, and he didn't _do _helpless. There was nothing they could do. Unless new evidence came up it was not under their jurisdiction, but even if it was not Kate, this was simply more evidence of a plot already well underway.

Jenny's desk phone rang, and Gibbs looked at her questioningly.

"Okay, I'll be right there," she said, hanging up. "Director wants to see me." she said by way of explanation.

Gibbs nodded and she left. They hadn't really spoken about it, but she was almost certainly about to transfer off the team, and he was all for it.

He noticed Tony watching their exchange with great interest and fixed him with a penetrating stare, predictably, the younger agent scrambled to recover. "You know, I'm just going to get back to work." he said, pointing lamely to his desk.

"You do that." Gibbs growled, and stalked out of the bullpen.

* * *

By time Jenny returned Gibbs had stalked off and back again, and Tony had gone through everything twice to no avail. They had another body, but they still had flat nothing. Gibbs slammed down the case file and glared at Tony who yelped in what was a comical scene for a grown man.

"There's gotta be something here. Look again!" Gibbs growled.

All they had were that the two men had met outside work once and were both dead, and nobody could find anything else.

Her meeting had been fine. She'd be back on the terrorism desk in what was close her to her old position with only a lifetime of experiences between her and it, and if she stuck it out after that, she'd be up for a senior position. She was struck dully by the fact that she didn't really care, which was so antithetical to everything she'd thought she was.

What had been shaky in her own sense of identity had always been covered by strong convictions and the ability to carry out a plan, and with every passing day she felt distinctly unmoored. She'd be okay of course, being well practiced in adapting and surviving came with the territory, but it wasn't something she enjoyed.

"Gibbs!" Abby yelled, as she appeared at the end of the dividers, "I've got it! Australian Taipan venom. It's nearly impossible to trace, but not if you know where to look-"

"Jethro!" Jenny yelled as the television behind Tony caught her attention. Images of Air Force One flashed on the screen before settling on a reporter. Tony rushed to turn up the volume

'_...A Secret Service Agent has foiled a terrorist plot on Air Force One. A man posing as a journalist tried to arm himself before attempting to force his way into the cockpit; he was presumed to be Al Qaeda.'_

"I wonder if it was her." Tony wondered out loud.

"Yup, there she is!" Exclaimed Abby as a slightly dishevelled Kate appeared onscreen.

Jenny and Gibbs made eye contact across the team. It was done, everyone was fine, and they could stand down now.

* * *

Gibbs had not been home long when he heard the sound of his front door opening and closing again, followed by the sound of a bag hitting the floor. A smile spread across his face when, moments later, he was faced with Jenny herself who shared his smile.

"Got everything you need?" He asked.

"And these," she replied, brandishing a box full of what appeared to be small, sweet smelling cookies. "I told Noemi I wouldn't be needing any food tonight, but she apparently didn't believe me."

"Yeah, well." Gibbs said, tipping his head. He could hardly blame the other woman. Jenny might act like she could take on the world and then some, but her vulnerability was never far below the surface. He leant over and kissed her lips and allowed himself a moment staring into her eyes at the faint goldish bloom around her irises.

Her cheeks tinged pink under his gaze. "Is it wrong that I'm glad you weren't on that plane?" she asked, turning the mood sombre.

"Nope," he responded with deceptive ease, but he could tell from her expression that she sensed the 'but' behind it. His new and fragile sense of family was something he was willing to protect at all costs, but it didn't stop the feelings of guilt still nagging. It could join the queue. He tugged her into the lounge and down onto the couch with him.

"I can't believe it was that simple: a terrorist saw a movie and then thought he'd try it in real life," Jenny mused, half muffled into his shoulder.

"Damn near worked, too."

"Agent Todd deserves a medal."

"Yeah. She won't get one."

Jenny's brow furrowed as she pulled back enough to look at him. "Why?"

"She slept with a co-worker. It's against the rules, she'll probably have to resign."

Jenny smiled ruefully. "I guess we're lucky NCIS is a little more understanding."

"Yeah, we are. If I offered her a job, would you be okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I thought you didn't like her."

"I don't _not_ like her."

Gibbs snorted. "That'll do. Speaking of, how did things go with the Director?"

"Oh, fine. I'll be in a desk job by the end of the week."

"Good."

"Is it? Everything's changing, Jethro."

"Would have changed if you'd stuck your promotion, too."

"Yeah, but I would have chosen the difference. I'm choosing the same but falling down next to it."

"Do you regret coming back?" Gibbs asked in what was an unknowing echo of Ducky's earlier question.

Jenny stilled next to him. "Not at all, it's just taking a while for me to catch up."

Gibbs played with her hair as he mulled this information over. "I love you, if that helps," he offered gruffly.

"I think it might," she replied, and he watched a fragile smile bloom across her face.

"Good."

"Jethro?"

"Mm?"

"I'm so damn tired."

Gibbs laughed at the change of pace. "First we eat, then you sleep."

"Do cookies count as dinner?"

"Nah. C'mon, Jen - Chinese. Is your favourite still your favourite?"

"It was last time I checked."

"Good."

"Good?" she asked, though her eyes were heavy, and her lips were bent upwards in jest.

"Good." Gibbs declared, and went off in search of the phone.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: What's this, a new chapter so soon? Yeah, I don't know how it happened, either. I managed to find some flow and off she went, but I'm really happy with this one. Also, it's been almost a whole freaking year since I posted Ch 1, so thank you so much to all of you who are still following, especially those of you who leave me lovely reviews!**  
**I have listened to a metric butt-tonne of Celine Dion writing this. I have no idea why, but overblown mid 90's romance bangers gets me in the mood for writing these two, always. The playlist is on Spotify if anyone wants it, try searching 'Writing Jibbs'. May you enjoy :)**

* * *

Tony's eyes flicked to the date in the bottom corner of his screen and then to Kate, and a slow smile spread across his face. Things were a lot less complicated since Kate arrived, and the upside was that now he had someone who's chain he wasn't afraid to yank. Gibbs seemed less cranky about it all, Jenny seemed happier when he saw her, and things were overall better in his very special opinion.

"Well look at that, Katie," Tony said, taking a moment to relish using the wrong version of her name. "You've been here a whole one month and two weeks now, what do you think of good old NCIS?"

Kate looked up from the file she was reading and shot him a dirty look. "First of all, I've told you, I don't know, five times not to call me that, and second of all, you're mentioning it now because you forgot on the one month anniversary, aren't you," she said, grinning widely.

"Of course not! Well okay, yeah, but what's it like here, you know, compared to The Secret Service?"

"Honestly? You're all insane. Forget by the book, there isn't a book, it's all by Gibbs's rules, whether he's told you or not, and that...works, for the most part, surprisingly."

"What do you think of him and Shepard?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Why do I even need to have an opinion? It's their personal lives, it's got nothing to do with me."

"Everyone has an opinion."

"Fine. They seem good together. She's a lot like him, just prettier and with better social skills."

"Ha, don't let her hear you say that." Tony said, before whipping around to make sure Jenny wasn't behind him.

Kate laughed at his reaction.

"What?" He asked, defensively. "She sneaks like him, too."

Kate coughed pointedly, and Tony stilled as he realised they were no longer alone. He snapped his head to where she was looking to make sure it wasn't Gibbs or Jenny coming to kill him and was surprised to find that it was neither. There was a tall, sandy haired man wearing an NCIS cap standing at the end of their row.

"Can I help you?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, I was just looking for Agent Shepard."

"Wrong department there, buddy," Tony said, deciding now was a good time to chime in.

The man grinned. "Ha, she transferred out? Guess that makes sense."

"Not really out so much as down the hall. Who are you anyway?" Tony asked.

"Stan Burley," He said, extending his hand first to Tony and then to Kate. "I used to be on Gibbs's team, along with Shepard."

Tony's eyes grew round with the possibilities of everything this man might know.

"No, Tony," Kate said firmly, having noticed the look on his face.

"What, I haven't done anything? Anyway, she works down on the Middle East desk now."

"Do I, Agent DiNozzo?" Jenny's voice said, silkily from somewhere far too close for Tony's liking. He turned to find her standing behind him on the other side of the divider, having appeared in the walkway at some point in their conversation.

"Look, there she is!" He exclaimed, very keen to get the attention off himself.

Burley grinned when he saw her. "Oh hey, Shep."

"Shep?" Tony mouthed silently across at Kate, while Jenny set her chin and she moved in front of the desks to stand before Burley, which caused Tony to wince in anticipation.

"Wow, I can't believe it." Burley said, looking her up and down before his eyes lingered on her belly.

"What do you want, Burley?"

"Can't a former teammate come and wish you congratulations?"

"You can, thank you, but there's no way you came over here just to say that. To ogle me like a sideshow curiosity, maybe."

Burley held his hands up in surrender. "I came to collect my winnings in the office pool."

Jenny raised her brows. " Oh? And what did you bet on?"

"Oh, you know, this, that, a few things."

Jenny narrowed her eyes at him, and Burley shifted uncomfortably when it became clear she wasn't buying it.

"Okay, fine! I bet that you and Gibbs would get together while you were on your last assignment."

"You and half the agency. I heard you all got five bucks. What else?"

"That was it."

"That's crap. What _else_?" Jenny said, stepping closer as she pushed.

Burley scratched the back of his head and smiled at her sheepishly. "I bet that Gibbs would knock you up by the time you were stateside. It was a stupid joke! I made a joke, and Decker dared me to put a bet on it. Didn't think you'd actually do it."

"How much?"

"A thousand bucks," he admitted in a mumble.

Tony's wide eyes caught Kate's before they noticed Gibbs coming up silently behind Burley Gibbs and winced as his hand met resoundingly with the back of the man's head."

Jenny smiled at Burley with satisfaction, having seen it coming.

Gibbs scowled. "You bet on me; I collect. You bet on her and that's another 25 percent, and if my child is involved, you'll be lucky if I let you keep any at all"

"Oh, come on, Gibbs. There wasn't even a 'your child' when I made that bet."

Face still impassive, Gibbs held his hand out, and Burley reluctantly slapped a wad of bills into it. Gibbs then handed the cash to Jenny. He smiled widely at Burley. "How've you been, Stan?"

* * *

He rubbed the sandpaper down the particular rib of the hull he was working on and stopped to run his hand down it. He tilted his head to listen to the footsteps above him and smiled at the thought of Jenny moving around the kitchen where she obviously was. There was no way she was cooking, but she was doing something in there. He didn't think it was that she couldn't, but with time and energy more scarce than money and a housekeeper willing to do it, then there didn't seem to be much point. He'd been thinking lately about whose house they were going to live in as a family. His was drab in places and needed a lick of paint in others, but privately he considered his home a much better choice for raising a family. He'd been thinking a lot about family.

The laundry floor creaked as Jenny neared the top of the stairs, and he looked up in time to watch her walk down. It was something he'd come to enjoy even before they were together, but now he relished it. She was pinker in the cheeks and a little softer around the edges in a way that made him want to keep her close just so that he could touch her often.

She handed him a bowl of something fragrant and savoury smelling.

"Noemi?"

"She's really good." She said around a mouthful. "I might have to offer her a raise."

Gibbs took a forkful and tilted his head in agreement.

"Can you believe Burley bet that you'd knock me up?"

He let out an amused puff of air. "Yeah."

"Do you think he saw something we didn't, or did he get lucky?"

"Ah, he was just being an idiot. Decker bet we'd come back married."

Jenny snorted softly. "Now that wouldn't have happened."

"That a fact, Jen?"

She smiled coyly at him. "Ask me in a year," she retorted, answering a question he hadn't asked.

Gibbs smirked and shook his head, and they shared a moment in comfortable silence before Gibbs decided to break it once more with something that had been playing on his mind.

"I wanna take you to meet my dad."

Jenny put down the fork that had been halfway to her mouth and stared at him. "I had no idea he was around to meet."

"He's still living where I grew up. I haven't seen him since the funeral."

She didn't need to ask who's funeral, because unless he said otherwise, it was always going to be Shannon and Kelly. "What happened?"

"He brought along a girlfriend. Looking back it had been years since mom died, but bringing a woman I didn't know to something so personal seemed unforgivable."

"I'm sorry, Jethro. You know at my father's funeral, no one came. It was pretty much just me and the coffin."

"You've got no other family?"

"Mom bailed when I was a baby, said she wasn't ready to be a mother, and then she went off to have my sister with another guy."

"That's hard, Jen."

"I'm used to it."

"Doesn't mean it hurt you any less."

"My father and I weren't talking when he died. He was mad at me for taking a job at NCIS and not some plum job at the White House. He did his best for me, and I miss him, but right now I'm kind of relieved he's not here to see this. I'm not ashamed of being with you or being pregnant, but he'd be casting his shadow of disapproval all over us." She smiled ruefully. "No matter how hard I tried, I never was quite perfect enough for him. He loved me, though, and I loved him. Do you know why I joined your team, then took that promotion?"

"Nope," he said with honesty.

"I wanted to get to a position high enough in the agency to go after the man who killed my father."

"How'd he die?"

"Official cause of death was suicide. They said he took a bribe and killed himself out of shame, but that was a cover. He was killed by the arms dealer he was accused of taking money from."

Gibbs squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, Jen."

"You were the first person I'd met that made me want to stay."

"That why you left me in Paris?"

"When you laughed, at me, I was so scared of you breaking my heart that I left anyway. God, it's a miracle that we ended up here at all."

"Sometimes things have a way of working out."

"I'm glad they did."

"Me too." He said, his voice soft. The fact that her eyes were moist not escaping his notice. She was fragile, and he could see the toll it took on her. What had remained stoically under wraps before was now beginning to unravel.

She obliged and let out a shuddering breath as he folded her into his arms. He caressed her hair and felt the warmth of her head through her hair against his palm, and for while he felt rather than heard her cry. As her breathing slowed with her tears planted a kiss on her forehead with all the gentleness he could muster, and Jenny partially disentangled herself from his embrace. When she emerged her face was red and wet, and her hair was mussed out of its tidy bob.

"I'm here, Jen."

She nodded and squeezed the hand he was still holding and took a deep breath. "I'd love to meet your dad."

"How about next week? I'll square it with Morrow."

She nodded. "Deal."

* * *

Jenny was long asleep when he ventured into the basement again and poured some bourbon into a mug. He planned on joining her, but he needed time to think on the conversation they'd had earlier.

Certain things about her suddenly made a lot more sense. She'd been out for revenge, possibly as a suicide mission, and he understood it completely. Her pain was familiar, both because he knew her and because it was so much like his own.

The fact that she'd been ambitious enough to use her job at NCIS to learn whatever skills needed and rise to the top caused a faint smile to spread across his lips. It was her all over, and part of what made her so brilliant.

Her parents were insult added to injury. He had half a mind to track her mother down, though to what end he didn't know. Maybe just to get a look at the sort of woman who could abandon her baby and then replace her like she'd been nothing, but it was pointless. It also wasn't his fight.

Her father was another matter. Jenny was a talented investigator, but it was hard to tell how much of what she remembered was due to her not being able to face the facts. Someday he'd pull the file and take a look for himself, but right now they needed peace and stability.

She was a lot more like him than Shannon had been, and, looking back, it amazed him how well they worked, now and from the moment they'd met.

There were going to be insecurities in her about her parents that would rear their ugly heads, he knew, and other things, and he would be there to bolster her when she needed him.

None of it changed how he felt about her.

He downed his drink and stood to leave, flicking off the light as he went and headed up the stairs.

* * *

Jenny shifted in her position in the passenger seat of the car and tried to find a way to arrange herself comfortably, but it was no use. Her entire body felt ached in some way. Pinched nerves and loosening joints, and tender places that no longer tolerated the pressure of sitting in the same place for too long.

They'd taken her car rather than Gibbs's truck for comfort reasons, and Gibbs was putting it through its paces on the way out of the city, mumbling something about it being a glorified Toyota as he took off from the lights. She reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the map she knew was in there and spread it across the dash in an attempt to familiarise herself with where they were headed.

"You let me know when we need to stop." Gibbs said, throwing a glance her way.

"I'll be fine, Jethro."

He rolled his eyes. "I can tell you're uncomfortable. Besides, being in the same position for too long is bad for circulation, moving is better for the baby."

"Have you been reading my pregnancy book?" She asked. She'd bought herself a week by week guide so she could match her symptoms with an explanation.

He shrugged. "Figured my knowledge was a bit rusty."

"That's very sweet," She said, smiling as she pictured him reading it. "I had wondered why it was never on the page I left it on."

"I couldn't remember."

"You didn't try."

His mouth quirked into a lopsided smile that confirmed her suspicions.

"Oh, that reminds me, I have a scan booked for next week; they asked me if I want to find out the gender."

"Do you?"

I thought maybe you might like to be prepared."

"Nah, let's keep it as a surprise. That okay?"

"Fine by me," she said, feeling oddly deflated.

A long beat of silence followed and he glanced at her once more. "What's wrong, Jen?"

"It's all starting to feel real now."

A small frown appeared on his face and he appeared to weigh her response before nodding once. He reached a hand out to find hers, and he held it as they drove on.


	12. Chapter 12

Gibbs had insisted on stopping for the night, which felt like an odd cross between their year abroad and working an overnighter, only this time they'd shelled for nicer accommodation. He'd taken them out of their way and pulled in at a quaint little place by the Susquehanna, which flowed by in all its wide, brown glory. Jenny had tried telling him she'd be fine, but he was having none of it.

She sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and winced. She was only halfway to the finish line, but the curse of having more legs than torso meant that she already looked like she'd swallowed a small watermelon, or at least that's what her doctor told her.

The air of the room was brooding, and she watched on as a solemn-faced Gibbs placed their bags on the floor. He was quiet even for him, though his face remained impassive, and the way he flexed his now empty hands spoke of his disquiet.

She drew her brows together in concern. "What's wrong, Jethro?"

He stilled at the sound of her voice before coming over to sit next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Going to Stillwater", he said and swallowed roughly. "It brings up old things."

"Shannon and Kelly?" she asked with as much gentleness as she could muster. She was still afraid of mentioning them though less than she had been. Their sharing of wounds had changed things, and since then there'd been a new sense of candour between them.

"I haven't been back in years, place never felt right."

"How long?"

"1976."

A soft smile graced her lips. "I'd have been eight years old."

Gibbs gave a quiet chuckle, and his expression mirrored hers for a moment, but his eyes were distant. "I'd just joined the marines. I met Shannon for the first time at the station while I was waiting for the train out."

His eyes met hers and he slipped his warm hand into hers as it rested in her lap before lifting it to his mouth and brushing his lips across her knuckles. "What about you?"

She pursed her lips but was unsurprised by his question because he could read her almost as well as she read him.

"Something's bothering you."

She looked at him for a moment before deciding to continue this new trend of being candid. "I'm scared of becoming my mother."

"You planning on going anywhere?"

"Of course not."

"Then you'll be fine," he said, and placed his hand on the small of her back.

"What if I don't love it, what if I don't feel anything? I've got no idea about being a mom; I've never even _held _a baby."

"You have some idea."

"Since when?"

"As soon as you knew, you came back. That's instinct right there."

She made a face that was more grimace than smile. She hadn't given the baby a second thought, not really. "I came back because I was terrified."

"You could have done a lot of things, but you chose that. You're gonna be a great mom, Jen."

He gave her hand a firm squeeze and she felt the telltale prickle of tears beginning to well in her eyes. She tilted her head back in a vain attempt to stop them before they started, but they fell anyway. "God I'm sick of crying. I think I liked things better when I held it all in."

"Better out than in."

"Says the man who lives not to tell his secrets.

Gibbs shrugged at her and half smiled. "Yeah, well."

She moved her eyes across his face and studied him with care, sensing something below the surface. She locked her still moist eyes locked with his. "What don't I know?" she asked, unsure she dared to know the answer.

"Mom killed herself."

"Jethro…" she murmured as the horror of what he'd just said seeped through her.

He lifted a shoulder like it was nothing which in itself put the lie to his action. "She had terminal cancer, thought it was a better way to die."

"That's awful. How old were you?"

"Ten."

Jenny laughed wetly. "God. We're just one tragedy after another."

"We're still here."

"I want more than that."

"So do I."

His lips were warm as he pressed them against hers, as were his arms as they wrapped around her and pulled her close.

She'd tucked her head neatly under his chin but froze at a fluttering feeling that bloomed within her belly. She pulled back wide eyed at the sensation. "I felt it, the baby, it moved."

"You sure?"

"Well, it's about the right time, and it was definitely something."

He placed his hand on her belly and she moved it to where she'd felt it and her eyes shot to his as it happened again. "Did you feel that?"

"No. Might be too early," he murmured, but she didn't miss the look of pride on his face.

Jenny gave him a small smile and let his confidence assuage her fear. "Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?"

"Girl. You?"

"Both genders are equally small and confounding"

"Come on, no women's intuition?" he teased, his eyes belying his mirth.

She smiled. "Not even a little."

"Surely your gut says something," he said, and spread his hand across her belly for effect.

"Well, other than the fact that it's hungry."

Gibbs laughed. "We better feed it then."

"Again."

"Yeah, well, baby's gotta eat"

"What about me?"

"You too."

More and more she found there was a lightness about them that had always been there, only now it was flourishing in ways it had never been able, along with the openness that neither had once dared allow.

"Jethro."

"Mm?"

"Do you think we'd have got here if I wasn't pregnant?"

"You left." he stated simply, but his voice held no malice.

She let his statement slide. "For what it's worth, I'm glad things turned out this way."

"Even though you're scared?"

"For us to be together, it's worth it."

Smiled and offered her his hand, helping her up off the bed. "You sure you don't wanna marry me?" He asked with a grin.

She pursed her lips in mock irritation. "Shut up, Jethro."

* * *

The broad Main Street of Stillwater spread out before them with cars parked along the side but little traffic.

"Looks idyllic," Jenny said, though she didn't sound entirely like she believed it.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Looks can be deceiving."

No more was said on the matter, and Gibbs pulled them into a space across from his father's store, noticing as he did that the man himself was out front cleaning the windows. The eyes of some of the townsfolk were on he and Jen as they got out of the car, and the place felt as uncomfortable now as it had way back when.

He'd never belonged, and he didn't like them, and part of him regretted coming in the first place, but the prospect of becoming a father again had him re-evaluating his idea of family.

He noticed Jenny glance at him, as if sensing his unease.

At that moment, his father looked up and caught sight of them having felt their gaze. Gibbs watched as his eyes flicked between Jenny and himself before lingering on Jenny, who's hair was glowing a vibrant shade of copper in the midday sun.

His father's gaze moved to her abdomen and then back across to Gibbs himself. Pieces assembled; puzzle solved. They locked eyes and he felt a dull throb of old anger. His mother's death had torn them apart, and they hadn't been right since, and the loss of Shannon and Kelly had been the final nail in whatever they'd had left.

"Leroy!" his father yelled from across the street. "I wasn't sure I'd see you again," he said and started to make his way towards them.

Gibbs shifted uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well, things change."

"I'll say," he said looking pointedly at Jenny.

"You gonna introduce me to this lovely lady of yours?"

"How do you know she's mine?"

Beside him Jenny suppressed a smile while his father rolled his eyes and gave up on him and turned to her instead. "Jackson Gibbs, at your service, but you can call me Jack." He said and offered her his hand.

"Jenny Shepard," she replied with a smile and shook it.

His father beamed at her. "A good, firm handshake, you must be a strong woman."

"You have no idea," Gibbs muttered, at which Jenny shot him an amused look.

"Well she must be to put up with you. Why don't we all head inside," he said and pointed to the store.

Jackson closed the door behind them before leading them through the store to living quarters in the back. "How long are you staying?

"Just a couple of nights, but we'll go book a room at the place up the road," Gibbs replied, putting to bed what was likely his father's next question before it had been asked. He had no intention of subjecting Jenny to the diminished privacy of staying here and he wasn't too keen on the idea himself. The memory of hiding in his room so that his father would stop trying to talk to him was more fresh than it ought to be. His dad had tried endlessly to empathise with him and bring him out of whatever funk he perceived him to be in, but it had only made him feel more alone and even less understood.

"Nonsense!" Jackson exclaimed. "You don't need any accommodation. There's a perfectly good spare room upstairs; has a double bed and everything."

Gibbs let out a long steady breath and rolled his eyes skyward. He and Jenny had discussed sleeping arrangements on the way and eventually decided on staying somewhere else, but one look at his father told him it wasn't an option. He looked to Jenny in apology. "That okay with you?"

"I'll be fine," she said, smiling at him knowingly.

Jackson beamed at them. "Good, well that's settled. Coffee?" he asked, holding up a coffee pot before putting it down to rummage around in an overhead cupboard. "Oh, looks like I'm out of coffee. I'll just go get some more," he said, and headed out to the front of the store.

Jenny smiled at his father politely before turning her attention back to him. "I'll be fine, will you?"

Gibbs shrugged. "It'll be okay."

"Good to know, but that wasn't my question, though if the mattress is old and uneven, I'm going to be sending you out to look for a new one."

Gibbs laughed. "I'll book you a room up the road, though I can't promise it'll be any better. They shared a meaningful look as Jackson returned.

He smiled in their direction. "Now, where were we…" he said and proceeded to bustle around the kitchen

* * *

After a drink that was as painful as it was polite, Jenny had excused herself, which left Gibbs alone at the kitchen table with his father staring intently at the mug he was holding while his father fixed him with a penetrating gaze.

"She okay?" Jackson asked with a glance at the nearby staircase.

"Yeah, just needs to stretch out after being in the car," Gibbs said and followed his father's gaze, envious of the fact that she was able to disappear.

"I guess travel will do that to you. So, what brings you to these parts after all this time? I figured by this point in time you wouldn't be setting foot here again."

"A change in perspective."

Jackson smiled knowingly and Gibbs felt his sharp, blue gaze rake him for details. "That got anything to do with the basketball she's got up her sweater?"

"Yeah, it does."

"Heard you got married a couple of times, though obviously not to her seeing as she's got no ring on her finger."

"Didn't work out."

"That much I figured. So, where'd you two meet?"

"At work."

"Ah, that explains everything." Jackson quipped, grinning at him impishly.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "I'm an Agent with NCIS, so's Jen. She was my partner."

"You mean like cops and stuff?

"We're investigators, we solve major crimes, things like murders and trafficking."

"Sounds like quite the job. She any good?

Gibbs tipped his head in assent. "Jen's a good agent."

"Guess that's gonna change now though."

"Already has."

You gonna marry her?"

"If she wants to."

"She's put the brakes on it then; any idea why?"

"Wants to make sure it'll last."

"I guess with two wives between herself and Shannon she's right to be. She knows about them?"

"She met the last one."

"What did she think of her?"

"They hated each other."

His father guffawed. "I'm not surprised!" he said and wiped tears from his eyes before his expression began to sober. His father looked him dead in the eyes. "It's good to have you back, son, but tell me one thing - what did I do that was so awful that you wanted nothing to do with me?"

Gibbs looked down at his hands. "You brought a date to their funeral."

His father inhaled sharply and looked away before meeting his gaze again. "I always thought that your mom and I had a love story for the ages, and I never regretted giving up the Force to be here and provide for you, but things don't always work out like we plan, and the best things don't always last, though maybe now you understand my position a little better. I know how you always hated me for getting on with my life."

Gibbs looked away. "I'm sorry, dad."

"So am I, son. So am I."


End file.
